Wildlife Photography across the Water

California Day 5

2012-01-29T03:24:00.017Z

Last year i met up with blog reader Jim Lindenthal at his home in the beautiful Pacific Grove near Monterey where he kindly showed me some of his local haunts, I contacted Jim just before this trip and met up again for a days shoot, Jim is good company and having Nikon gear makes him my kinda guy so we met up and made some plans for the day which was basically to go down to the nearby beach areas where Jim knows the good bird spots and see what we could find, The coast line where Jim lives is stunning-nothing more to add and with the addition of good bird life with the bonus of otters and seals makes its a paradise for anybody who is lucky enough to visit, I have to say if i had anywhere to live in the world this would be in my top 10 and very close to the top, Doesnt matter what time of year that you are there its always photogenic and there are some is something of interest to shoot, This time i was lucky enough to get to see and shoot some new species for me in the way of Black Oystercatcher, Surf Bird and Black Turnstone, The Oystercatcher was one bird that i had wanted to shoot for a long time and not only did we get near a few we got some to die for images as well, The weather was bright sunshine and quite hot bit as log as we had the suns on our backs we kept the heavy shadows to a minimum,

Just a couple of minutes from Jim house and there is a good variety of birds, Here are Whimbrel, Black Plover and Sanderling but on the same rock were Egrets and Oystercatcher
A Double Crested Cormorant catches some late afternoon sun
A Brown Pelican Skim the waves
The heavy swell did not seem to bother the cormorants landing on the rocks
Black Turnstones were new for me and pretty plentiful
A Pacific Gull has a stretch
SurfBird

Pacific Grove is an area where the Monarch Butterflies spend the winter so we popped in there for a look, We were told that there were around 10 000 there at the moment and although the light was harsh we managed a few shots

Without doubt the highlight for me was the Black Oystercatchers, Such a great looking bird, I watched then for some time and noticed some similarities to other birds and noticed that after a good preen they flick there wings up, It takes a split second and the first time it took me by surprise and i clipped the wing, We found a very relaxed oyster catcher later in the day and took a lot of very nice standard images before it started to preen, I set up and hoped i could catch the wing flap which is straight up, I left room above the bird and kept an eye through the viewfinder, It happened and i got 3 frames so at 6 frames per second it lasted just half a second and 2 of the frames were spot on

The image is full frame-uncropped and i judged it just about right, Maybe a tad more at the base would have been nice but i have to say i am very pleased with the oystercatcher images-very

So a huge thank you to Jim, I enjoy the time and company

Dave

Big Garden Birdwatch

2012-01-28T17:48:00.002Z

Before I was back in the house after putting out more food and suet/fat mix, the birds were already coming down. A cooler couple of days has bought in a few more birds, and so at about 10.30 this morning, I set about my annual BGBW.

And the tally?

As follows;

3 Starling
2 x Song Thrush
2 x Robin
2 x Dunnock
3 x Carrion Crow
7 x Chaffinch
4 x Blackbird
3 x Wood Pigeon
1 x Wren
3 x Blue Tit
2 x Collared Dove
1 x Sparrowhawk
1 x Coal Tit
1 x male Blackcap (just at the end of the hour)

So a couple of surprises for me.

Firstly the number of species within the hour (14), particularly as bird traffic has been so infrequent lately, as I recently blogged,

And Secondly, to see the Blackcap at the end of the watch was great as we have not seen any Blackcap this winter until today.

How did you fair with your garden count? Let us know through the comments, it would be good to hear.

So with my results uploaded, I popped out again to the site where I recently got the Red Kite images and had a great afternoons birding, which I will save for my next blog.

Martin

California Day 4

2012-01-27T01:00:00.000Z

My last blog basically took me most of the morning as i downloaded and sorted through the images and then quickly processed them etc, In the afternoon i went to one of my favorite places here-The Baylands reserve, I did stop at a lake on the way where i shot an eared grebe last time and there were some more grebes as well as a good head of goldeneye, I decided as the light was bright to move further down the road to baylands and see what was around, There were plenty of birds especially waders and ducks, I stayed until sundown shooting both at low level and at birds in flight, There is one area where the water is protected by the surrounding marsh and is always good for reflection images and thats where i spent most of my time, The main problem is that its right next to the road so lots of people come to view the birds or the crazy guy sitting quietly in the grass, When this happens they tend to move off but soon return when the coast is clear, Patience is the key and i had yellowlegs, egret, teal, stilt and shoveler very close by. The light was bright but behind me and i was quite pleased with the end result, All images were taken with the D3s and 600 (with and without a 1.4x)

Teal
Shoveler
Stilt
Yellowlegs
Avocet
Snowy Egret

On my next blog i meet up with one of our blog readers and get some great results

Dave

Focus on Imaging

2012-01-26T20:02:00.003Z

After Dave's great mega blog and fab photos of yesterday, it's just a short quickie or a quick shortie from me tonight to give our readers from the UK side of the water a reminder that it is not too long now until the photo extravaganza that is Focus on Imaging at my old workplace, the NEC.

If you have been before and registered you will no doubt shortly be receiving your automatic tickets. But if you haven't then check out this link which will give you all the details and information that you need to know.

Jac and I may well take a look in this year, as I haven't been in for a couple of years now. Not that I will be looking to buy any new kit, although I do fancy taking a peek at some of the new Nikon gear. Did I just say that out loud? Oops!!

One tip for you though , do check what else is on at the NEC in terms of other shows and plan around that. March is their second busiest month . The good news is that it doesnt clash with Crufts otherwise you would be in long traffic queues if you are driving.

Anyway, it is a little way off yet but one for the diary.

Martin

California days 3-Mega Blog

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000Z

A big blog today-image wise anyways, Its taken a few hours to put this together but i hope that you think its worth the effort, Yesterday was a looong day, I had booked a tour to see the Elephant Bull seals and left in the dark and pouring rain, I questioned myself the whole way there and hoped that the shitty weather would put others off and give me more time-it didnt and we had around 15 people in out tour and the tours left every 15 minutes so quite a busy place at this time of year, The rain had subsided by the time we left but looked like it could drop at any time, Its around a 1.25 mile walk to the end of the point where the seals are although you can see them from distance in the sea, Now they do not do photographic tours so we had to keep stopping to learn about the history of the place, the vegetation and about the seals themselves-all very nice but not what i was after, My tour started at 8.45am and i was back at the car around 11am, In that time i was allowed around 20-25 minutes to take images and at some points we walked between a few seals that were way in the dunes but not allowed to stop, We could only shoot from the bluffs so the animals were below us which was not ideal, There were over 300 bulls and 1300 females and over 800 pups so a busy noisy place what could be fantastic for photography but the tours just didnt cater for that which was a great shame, The tour guide was great and very knowledgeable and the sight was a spectical so worth the effort, I used a big lens to try and' level' the drop and got some ok images, I hope to do better later in the week,

Radio Head, Female with tracking device stuck to her head

I carried the D3s with 600 on a tripod over my shoulder and in my backpack had the D7000 and 200-400, 24-70, Flash etc just in case, I have to say that every muscle in my body aches, Its not a flat walk either, some hills and then big sand dunes makes life difficult but overall a good work out, Just as we finished with the seals and about to walk back the heavens opened and we all got a good soaking just for fun, I think somebody up there had a damn good laugh, The good thing about the heavily overcast conditions was that there were no harsh shadows so all in all a good result from a short space of time
I left the seals and although i had booked another tour later in the afternoon i decided to go elsewhere and see what was about, I stopped at a lot of know areas for me as well a couple of new ones and managed some reasonable shots of birds of various types

I dont have my bird guide with me so somebody may be able to help me with the ID of this gull
Heermans Gull-what great eyes
Pacific Gull
Not what you expect to see amongst the rocks on the beach-Snowy Egret
Whimbrel, California has been good to me with these birds and the last few trips have given me plenty of chances with them, They become confident with you if you are slow and start from distance, This one came within minimum focus distance after some time and the frame below id full frame

Black Bellied Plover
Godwits
Sanderling are always fun and a challenge to shoot
Common Loon-Full frame taken from a floating pontoon
Drake Bufflehead, A nice surprise, Taking a rest in the vegetation, Taken from my car
Whimbrel
I stopped at one beach and could see a good group of birds in the distance, there were a few pople around but not many, The birds turned out to be Black Bellied plovers and sanderling, As i approached i could see that they were skittish so i dropped my gear down and over 20 minutes or so i slowly edged forward until i was with shooting range, I started to get some shots then notices 2 women with a small child coming my way, They let the child down and gestured for it to go to the birds as 1 woman got her compact camera out, It was clear what i was doing as i had the 600 on the tripod and was looking through the camera but no the kid run over and every bird took to the air, I stormed over to her and told her exactly what i though of her in no uncertain terms-they left, Now i dont own the beach but what they did was just bloody rude and inconsiderate-i dont think she will do it again if there is a photographer there,

I moved to another area and got some ground squirrel images

Then decided to call it a day, Time was getting on and i was a couple of hours from the hotel, The sun decided to come out and was nice and low as i made my way up the highway,My body was saying enough was enough but the photographer was thinking that i could pop to a great area for evening photography where there are birds but more importantly good sea otter opportunities in good light, It was a bit out of my way but i have done well there in the past so it had to be worth the effort and so it turned out, The sun was setting over my shoulder as i crept along the rocks, There were some otters around the bend so i slowly edged my way along, All of a sudden there was a loud hiss which made me jump back, There was a sea otter sleeping in the rocks and it shit the life out of me, infact i dont know who was more surprised, I was very lucky not to get a nasty bite, You can see how well it blended in

I carried on shooting until the sun was well and truly down getting lots of nice otter images as well as some birds as an added bonus, I got the hotel absolutely drained, It had been a very long and arduous day, I grabbed some food and hit the sack

Pigeon doing what pigeons do

It was a great and very productive day, I went through my images and have over 700 saved after the first cull, ALL the images were taken with the D3s and 600, some with a 1.4x

Dave

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend

2012-01-24T05:00:00.001Z

I was wracking my brain about what I would write last night on my train commute home when thanks to twitter two separate but connected stories caught my eye that I thought I would share with you,

Firstly, this weekend coming is the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch that I have taken part in for as long as I can remember.

As I read that it was once again upon us, I immediately thought based on this years garden activity that it will be very slim pickings this year in terms of numbers. As I have mentioned in a number of blogs, and as recently as last Friday, bird numbers are very low in our garden.

Looking back at the last couple of years, my count stats for 2011 and 2010 were quite decent.

I will be surprised if we make ten species this year, unless we suddenly get an arctic blast for the rest of the week.

My second separate but connected story I read about a couple of minutes after i saw the first one, and explains why garden bird counts are low. It is nice to have your thoughts and theories confirmed.

As usual, I will post up my results and let you know.

Martin

California days 1+2

2012-01-23T05:26:00.008Z

In my last blog i mentioned that i was in San Francisco, Well after we had eaten and had a walk around i suggested going north and over the Golden Gate Bridge, The method in my madness was to go p the hill and get some images of the bridge and then carry on up to Point Reyes and maybe get 1 or 2 images of Elk, We managed a few touristy shots of the bridge as the weather wasnt up to much and then drove some way to Point Reyes which was a lot further than i remembered, By the time we got to the Elk it was late and the sun had dropped so it was just a couple of token images for the blog then return back to the hotel,

Today we had a few hours to kill so we hit Monterey, Grabbed some lunch and took a couple of images and shot back, It gave me time to have a look and see whats where, I did see a Bull Seal at close quarters but by the time i had the camera out it was gone, I did see some nice sea otters with very young cubs, Grebe and Loon as well as merganser to name but the best but few species but the light was blah and rained quite a bit and the water was like a mirror-grey and shiny

Tomorrow i have 5 hours of walking and trying to get some bull seal shots so i will surely be crippled and no doubt wet but i am kinda looking forward to it

Dave

Weather....again

2012-01-22T14:54:00.002Z

Following on from my last post on the unusual weather this year, and its effect on wildlife, I came across this story at Wildlife extra which is a great summary on the weather and wildlife last year.

It is worth taking out a couple of minutes to have a read - and well reflects so of my experiences that I found last year.

The cameras have remained in hibernation this weekend for me. With a 6yd builders skip having been delivered on Friday, I have had a busy time clearing out loads of builders rubble and scrap materials for a complete loft rebuild in my home. My 'den' for music and television is this years project and it is now time to get rebuilding. It should give me a wonderful view over the wildlife garden, and with a bit of luck, I can have a high level feeding platform to watch the birds at very close quarters.

So having knackered myself filling the skip, I could have gone to the site where I took these images this afternoon, but it is blowing a hoolie and the light is awful, so time to rest my aching back.

It is nice to see that it is getting lighter in the evenings again, and we are starting to emerge from the dark gloomy days from the depths of December, and we can start looking forward to brighter days as Spring looms around the corner.

Martin

Not a good start

2012-01-21T21:32:00.003Z

We were late getting in last night due to the torrential rain in San Francisco, Add 30mph cross winds and zero visability and you can imagine the approach and landing, We got the the hotel at 12.30am and it was pissing down so it was valet parking and off to bed, This morning we were up earlish and went to get the car only to find the sat nav missing which was actually mine, After some discussion and heavy words with everybody around me we found that 3 went missing yet all the cars were valet parked and locked, Strangely about 30 mins later i had a call from the police stating that they had apprehended a German guy who had been seen looking into car windows and his pockets were full of-you guessed it-sat navs and 30 mins after the call we were reunited-well done San Jose police force. We have the weekend sight seeing with an English friend who moved to San Jose 2 days ago so i am writing this in the Hard Rock cafe in fisherman's wharf over looking Alcatraz and tomorrow we are off to Monterey so should get some images, The weather report looks mainly wet for the week and its very windy so i will have to make the most of whatever opportunities that i get-fingers crossed, I did notice a lot of wildfowl on the lakes driving up to San Fran so lets hope

Ta Ta for now

Dave

Crazy Winter

2012-01-20T20:02:00.002Z

Well what sort of winter is this?

As has been the case in much of the UK, here in the Midlands our very mild winter continues. Apart from about three cold days last week when I had to scrape the windscreen and break ice on the ponds for the birds, our temperatures have remained unseasonably high.

Yesterday, I read the most unusual tweet from Cornwall - the first Swallow sighting. On January 19th - bizarre.

Anyway, here in my garden, it means that unless the temperatures are really low as they were briefly, an absence of many birds that I have been accustomed to seeing over the last few winters.

I guess with a bumper seed and berry crop in the fields and hedgerows, much of which is still available in abundance out in the countryside, has meant that the birds just haven't had to come foraging in the urban environment so much.

This time last year, I was filling an 18" tall sunflower heart seed feeder every day. Now I just put in enough to cover the bottom holes and end up throwing it away after a couple of weeks as it is uneaten.

Finally, a quick alert for something dear to my heart that I would ask you to engage in, if you feel strongly enough about it. The Hedgehog Society are carrying out monitoring and need your sightings. Link is here so please support if you can.

Right gotta go and cook supper now.

Have a great weekend

Martin

Calling Jim Lindenthal

2012-01-19T01:36:00.002Z

Hey Jim if you are reading this can you drop me a line, I dont seem to have your details for some reason and as i am in your neighborhood next week maybe we could meet for a coffee

Dave
dave@wildlifeinfocus.com

2011 Round Up

2012-01-19T01:00:00.000Z

The year didn't start too bad, I managed to get decent images in my garden of Grey Fox and Raccoon and we had a good dosing of winter visitors in and around the garden in the way of Waxwing and Robin which are always great to see,

By the early summer there was a lot of activity around the tiny 6x4 pond with all kinds of bugs and dragonflies

We also had nightly action on the patio with toads and a very friendly tree frog

Although it was a great year for hummingbirds i got very few images due to the extreme heat-again, I hope to improve on this this year as i can now shoot in the shade, We had an explosion of wolf spiders, They seemed to be everywhere from the garage to the patio, I do not mind them at all as long as they are outside, I accidentally killed one and then another was found a few days later on the patio, This gave me some good practice with the macro lens and flash set up

Considering i lived in suburbia i had a huge amount of wildlife on my door, I certainly hope that it will be as good if not better now that i am in a more rural setting,
We had a lull because of moving home and living an a rental but it didnt take too long to start getting some decent wildlife in the new garden and now have nightly visits from Deer and Opossum,

The bird life is increasing daily and yesterday we had our first Bluebird and Mockingbird, The winter hasn't really happened this year but i am still hopeful as an opossum in the snow is high on my wanted list
That about rounds up my 2011 look back and best of and now we can look forward to what 2012 brings

Dave

Mid Week quickie

2012-01-18T19:59:00.002Z

Just a very quick quickie from me tonight.

Seeing as though we have had the announcements of the Nikon D4, and a couple of months before of the Canon 1Dx, I guess it is quite natural to get into spec comparison.

This site, Northlight Images has compiled this table so you can see the differences and similarities side by side. While the prices are shown in Dollars, for our UK readers, the best £ comparison is here on Camerapricebuster. A £500 lower starting price for the Nikon is a healthy advantage and it will be interesting to see where retail prices go, and who wins the race to get them onto the dealers shelves. I have my views on that which I will keep to myself for now.

While I am in a chat mode, I have found a great way that you can reduce the weight that you have to lug across the countryside when you are heading out on your shoots. Wildlifing gear weighs a ton and every pound that can be shed is a bonus

Its very simple, and should save you money. Its called a diet!!

Having surprised myself with my post Christmas weigh in, it showed that happy married life, and great food having spent too much time watching Masterchef and the like, I have set to in the last two and half weeks with cutting back onthe food intake and doing some exercise, so now me and my kit is eight pounds lighter, with another three to go.

Another great tip from Wildlifephotographyacrossthewater!!

Right time for supper and then Masterchef on the telly.....oooops!!

Martin

Images of the year 2011-California

2012-01-17T15:06:00.023Z

I love going to California and we are lucky that my wifes company is based there and that normally means 1 or 2 trips a year, I have been at various times of year but spring there is awesome and so it proved last year, Everywhere i went there were countless birds, The light was great and then there are the sea otters which are one of my favorite things to photograph, Spring in northern California is also a beautiful place as everywhere is covered in spring flowers and there are miles and miles of purple flowers carpeting the beach areas-spectacular, This week will see me there at a new time fo year so we will have to wait and see if it holds up to the spring time, Here is a small collection of images taken last spring

Ground Squirrel
Pacific Grove
Whimbrel
American Avocet
Nutter
Sea Otter
Sanderling
Brewers Blackbird
Western Grebe
Anna's Hummingbird
Burrowing Owl
Whimbrel
Harbour Seal
Juv Common Loon
Harlequin Duck
Willet
Pheasant
American Avocet
Clark's Grebe
Snowy Egret
Horned Grebe

There were a few new species for me which is always nice, Its one place that i can highly recommend going especially in the spring, I always cover plenty of ground when i am there and know some very good places from North of San Francisco down past the Big Sur so a big area but all of them very productive, I have going for many years now and have really done my homework on the place, Last year i added a couple of new areas and i hope to do the same this year, The above images were all taken in the same 1 week trip

Dave

Better Days - Pt2

2012-01-16T05:00:00.001Z

Following on from my last blog, here is the second installment.

As I pulled up at my first stop, I saw four raptors to my left circling up to gain height. As I had only recognised four large 'dots', I assumed they were Buzzard. Getting out of the car and training my binos, the top two birds were Buzzard, but as I scanned down, I was thrilled to see the lower two were Red Kite.

Now I had once see a solitary Red Kite near this location a few years ago so this was a good start. Within a short space of time, I grabbed the images that I shared in the last blog.

Scanning further with the binos, I soon found six Red Kites, and eight Buzzard. One of the Kites spent some time on the ground in a field to my left and then after being disturbed by a Buzzard decided to fly towards me. This sequence shows the results of its catch, and how it feeds while on the wing.

Red Kite + Worm in Flight

Next morsel goes in

All cleaned up' for flight again

Afternoon sunlight was kind to me

So within the space of a few minutes, I was up to three raptors.

Moving a little further on, I met up with a bird watcher and we shared a few stories. A decent sized flok of Golden Plover were dancing in the light too, showing their wonderful profile and changing tones as the flock wheeled. Sadly, they were too distant to bother with the camera. The first Hare of the day showed itself, and another half dozen Buzzards were around, or maybe they were the same as the earlier ones.

Moving on again, I was fortunate enough to see seven more Hare in one field, three in another and another couple in a third field. A couple of Ravens let me know of their presence with their distinctive calls, while the Buzzard count went to around about twenty and even more pleasing, I would estimate that there were a total of about 25 Red Kite too. Flocks of Yellowhammer and Skylark were also interesting to watch and hear.

But it was shortly after seeing the Yellowhammer, that one of my target species flew into view - a stunning male Hen Harrier. Into the sun from my location, and I watched it for about thirty seconds only, but beautiful nevertheless, a real thrill.

Moving back to the second site, I rejoined the birder and we looked for the male HH but to no avail. We did see two female Hen Harriers hunting the rough cover, one of them spooking up a Short Eared Owl into flight.

Following the direction of flight of the SEO, I found it sat down in the middle of a field, into the light and too distant sadly.

That little tiny blob below is it, and the massive crop just merely allows me to confirm identification. I watched it for about 45 mins but it was quite content to just sit there and outstare me.

As the light got lower and lower, I moved towards home. A further sighting of a Sparrowhawk on my way back brought my raptor numbers up to six species. My challenge to get some decent SEO shots again remain but for me the birdwatching element of the day was probably the best bit for me.

It made my thoughts from a recent outing seem like a distant memory

Fingers crossed for more days like this

Martin

Images of the year 2011-Japan

2012-01-15T03:58:00.018Z

2011 certainly was a year of ups and downs for me but without doubt the highlight of the year was my trip to Japan, I had high expectations and the trip exceeded all of the by far, What a fantastic place for the wildlife photographer, i would have really loved to have managed a return trip this year but buying a new house emptied the kitty and it was too late to sell a lung, We took thousands of images and going through them it was difficult to know what was the favorites so here is a few that bought back some great memories

White Tailed and Stellers Eagles

Japanese Snow Monkey's

Whooper Swans

Japanese Red Crowned Cranes

Blackistons Fish Owl

A fantastic trip with a good friend, It certainly (i hope) will not be my last trip to Japan and its highly recommended to anybody who has the chance-A trip of a lifetime

Dave

Better days

2012-01-14T20:35:00.003Z

I popped out to another site not too far from me wthat has ben kind to me in the past with Short Eared Owls, and it has been reported that there have been sightings so thought it was time I gave it a go.

With still airs and great light, risp air, the weather was playing its part.

I wasnt disappointed.

Within two minutes of the first stop, I grabbed these following images. Not as critically sharp as I would quite like as they are large crops so suffer, as well as being handheld.

But it was great to get and see lots of bird activity again

In the next part, I will bring you a species of bird that I am really pleased to see spreading much closer to home in large numbers, as well as tell you about other exciting species that I had the pleasure of watching.

It was good to get back out again.

Martin

Garden and California

2012-01-13T01:00:00.000Z

I havent been shooting in the garden since before Xmas but i make sure that food is left in the same places at the same time of day every day that i am there, Animals are quite time conscious especially foxes, The opossums have decided to change their time table and instead of coming around 7pm they are now coming after mid night and up to 2.30am which is a right royal pain, I have a chair next to my garden window so i can watch all evening and into the night, The deer are still coming just after dark and there are normally 4-6 but sometimes more, The food (corn) don't last long and within 5 minutes they are gone, Great to see and they come pretty close to the house for a good view, We have had rain here for the last couple of days and although it may sound strange its actually a good time to go into the woods and have a look around for the tell tell signs of activity, Firstly the leaves will be soft and quite after a good soaking and secondly there will be paw/hoof prints in the soft mud telling you exactly whats been around when you haven't,
Yesterday morning after dropping my wife off at work i decided to check and fill the bird feeders, As i walked out i quickly stopped as there was a small woodpecker on the woodpecker branch, I watched for a few minutes and it didn't move so i went back in, I checked it again 5 minutes later and it was still there, All my gear was still packed away so i thought to hell with it and unpacked the gear and checked again-still there, So i crept out with the D7000 and 600 on my tripod, Took a few shots and wished i had my 1.4x with me, I crept forward slowly, The woodpecker was watching me and then took some more images, It was concerned at all and had a look around, I came back in and left it there and 10 minutes later it was still there, It moved down to one of the holes with fat in it and had a quick feed before flying off, Now that's a nice start to the day
First image and a bit small in the frame
I managed to creep forward without spooking the bird
The bird did move slightly down the branch at one point and with a slightly higher view point it completely changed the look of the image
All images are uncropped and as you can see i haven't tried to hide the feeder holes

Only a week before we fly off to California, I mentioned before that i hope to photograph the Elephant Bull Seals that arrive there every winter to breed, The problem is that when the big guys are there you have to go on a tour and the tickets can be bought up to 56 days before the day, I was lucky and have managed to book 4 tours each lasting 2.5 hours, The main reason for the length of tour is the 1+mile walk in each direction, I get the feeling that my shoulders are going to be very sore

Dave

Well at least the moon was nice

2012-01-12T05:00:00.000Z

Well you dont need me to tell you that as wildlife photographers you need to have a lot of patience and resilience to the elements.

So what do you do to pass the time while you are waiting for the species you have driven out to see, to turn up.

Well on the last day of the holidays, I headed only about 50 minutes away from my house to see if I could get my first Short Eared Owls of the year.

As you will see from the following, they didn't show....again.

So the mind and your eyes turns to other things as you wait, and wait, and wait,.....and wait. And as your body core temperature drops as it is only about 2 deg C, but the wind is biting into to you to make it feel many degrees colder. Minutes seemed to last for ever.

Hunger sets in, so you raid the food stores, and quickly you get more bored, so out comes the flask.

And then another ten minutes go by, and you think I'll have another cuppa, but then you realise at this rate you will run out of drink very soon. So you decide that you will reward yourself, by waiting another twenty minutes before the next one.

You make sure the camera is still set up OK, even though you did it five times in last twenty minutes anyway. The flask calls you tantalisingly, but your will holds

Oh look, there's an aircraft - lets check the AF is working OK.

Light aircraft on ILS practice approach to Gloucester airport, some good few miles away from me at this stage.

More time goes by - that looks like a nice gate, how is that framed? OK that would look great with an Owl flying through the middle wouldn't it?

Now we get all arty and start to take 'enviro' shots of a distant kestrel - doh!! Now you know things are getting bad now

Ooh! Thats a lovely partial moon, so crisp and clear

Arrgh, now thats better - ten minutes later as it's a bit darker. Makes a change from the black ones and full shape.

Meanwhile, you have been on site for over four hours, not seen a single Owl, or anything much else of interest. You are frozen through to the core, run out of food, run out of hot tea. You take the last test shots, and at ISO3200, 1/80s on a 700 lens, and down to f7.1, you finally accept you have run out of options.

Its a great life isn't it. But we will be back for more won't we?

Martin

Sigma 180mm F2.8 O.S Macro

2012-01-11T02:16:00.002Z

I received a mail from Sigma informing me that they have released a new macro lens in the 180mm F2.8 O.S, I had the old version-The 180mm F3.5 which was a great lens and i only changed it to the Sigma 150mm Macro as it would not work with the new D7000, For some reason 180mm Macro lens seem to be F3.5 but Sigma have made the new version a touch faster, Sigma make some outstanding macro lenses and i am sure that this one will join the list-plus it has optical stabilization which can only be a good thing for hand holding, I cant see any prices or availability yet so watch this space

Dave

Infront and Behind the camera

2012-01-10T15:33:00.010Z

Its not often that i am infront of the camera but when i was at the Crystal River one of my friends stayed on the boat one day and used her Nikon D700 to get some shots from above the water, I thought that this would give you some idea of what it looks like above and below at the same time
After swimming in open water for about 1.5 hours we returned to the boat and there were 2 manatees chewing on the anchor rope which is very common and a way for them to clean their gums etc, I decided to get some last shots

From above

From below
Yes thats my hand holding onto the boast to try and stabilise myself, I could crop it out but left it in for the blog

From Above

From Below

Not a great image by any accounts but what do expect when you are being bumped by something 5 times your size and they are just inches from the camera, You actually see my friend taking the image on the boat

A few images of me by my friend Judy:
Getting up close and personal

1.5 hours in the water and its job done and time to get out and grab a coffee, You can clearly see the EWA marine bag with the D3s in it

It nay be warm outside but once you have been in the water it feels very cold so wrap up quick in warm clothes and a funky hat and get some coffee and donuts
I was very glad to have somebody to get some shots of me doing what i enjoy the most, I have said before that swimming with the manatees is like nothing else in wildlife photography, Interaction between them is always an honor and an awesome experience, I just need to find a way of getting down their in March for some clear water and lack of people

All images out of the water copyright Judy Campbell

Dave

Fave images of last year - Final Part

2012-01-09T21:09:00.004Z

October saw me get an early morning start in Bradgate Park in Leicestershire for the annual deer rut, where I was treated to some great sights and sounds

More locally to me, the Fallow Deer, while less impressive as a mighty beast still have great charm, and when the light is right makes for a pleasing image.

But with a relatively quiet Autumn and early winter period, images were few and far between. However, one other trip in late October was fruitful and that was to Westonbirt Arboretum, on a day when all the conditions came right for me, for once. So to wrap up this quick look back of my favourite images of last year for a variety of reasons, here are the last batch.

Late December saw another trip across to the Forest of Dean, but you saw those images a week or so ago, so no repeats at this time.

Right so that was 2011, and so on to 2012, and what will it bring?

Keep watching and see what Dave and I find crossing the paths of our lenses, long, wide and close up.

Cheers

Martin

Savannah,Georgia

2012-01-08T16:15:00.006Z

On the way back from Florida went did a 2 day layover in Savannah Georgia, It break the journey in half and is right next to the i95, We have been there a couple of times before and if you are in the area its well worth a day or 2, Its very different from the main US cities in that it has an old European feel to it, Cobbled streets and old Euro architecture around the water front make for a pleasant change, In the spring the who place is a blaze of colour with rhododendrons, Add lots of huge trees covered in Spanish moss and it becomes a very picturesque place, Its not far from the sea and Hilton Head Island is only a 30 min drive and the nature reserve next to the bridge to the island is normally worth a trip, In the spring its full of birds, We went out to eat down by the waterfront one evening and i took the D3s along with the 24-70 and SB900, I did not want to take a tripod with me but did decide to get some long exposures of around 1.5 secs so used the flash to 'grab' the subject and a fence,post or rock for support which seemed to work well.
Savannah has a very cosmopolitan feel to the place, Lots of arty type people-defiantly worth the trip

Dave

A few quick ramblings

2012-01-07T18:54:00.002Z

I read Dave's D4 article yesterday with interest. See here for details of the UK press release.

Certainly looks very interesting, and at a £500 lower launch price in the UK, it certainly offers a number of advantages.

If I were in the market for a camera body at this sort of price bracket this year, it would now be a very serious proposition to make the switch. However, I still have a number of rooms in my house to refurbish so priorites are set. That and a remaining unsettled economy eans prudence has to rule the day for now.

Looking bnack at the press releases from Nikon and Canon, I sometimes wonder why they are made so far in advance of the goodies actually being available. Remember all the song and dance about tweleve months ago on the Canon 200-400 f4 with built in 1.4, and the mark 2 500's and 600's - not a sign of them!! Before the Canon fan boyz get all mardy with me - yes I do know there was an earthquake in Japan.

Hey ho - I guess it gives forum folks a good chance to have a whinge though :-)

A quick link I can recommend that you pop over and have a look at when you get a few minutes is that of Oscar Dewhurst. He has started up a new blog, so give him your support too. He is a young lad and turning out some great work. In keeping with our support for some of the younger stars as we did with Ashley Hugo, I hope that Oscar will do a guest slot for us this year.

By the way Ash, you need to get blogging again!!

I took a couple of trips recently to one of my Short Eared Owl sites - sadly on both occasions, the light and the wind direction were just perfect - which is why I chose to drive there. Sadly, with this site being fairly exposed to the strong wind, it proved too much for the birds to fly - an experience have had there before.

However, I will perevere with this site, as it is not overrun with birders and photographers and in particular that seemingly increasing band of photographers who appear to have no clue about wildlife and its needs, and seem solely motivated by photographic greed.

Right time to get ready to get out for some live music tonight at my local patch.

Have a good weekend

Martin

Nikon D4 Announced

2012-01-06T04:59:00.003Z

Finally-Nikon start the new year with a bang, The D4 has finally been announced after lots of speculation, I am sitting here like a geek at midnight waiting for the final details,
A few nice features are that the base iso is now 100 and can be set at 50 and go up to an insane 204000,
AF is said to be faster along with a new sensor with 91000 pixels, The D3s has something like 2000 pixels and the 51 AF points has 11 points that focus at F8-Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Canon who do not even offer 1 AF point at F8 on the 1DX
The styling is a little Canon 1 series with the smaller swoopy prism
Lots to read and take in and the real test will be when its in the hands of people we know and trust, Will i be getting one-nope certainly not yet and not this year unless its something super special, 16.2MP is not a substantial increase over the D3s and i doubt in the real world you will see much IQ improvement-we will see, I have read that the MP has been kept low for the video speed but who knows, Its looks nice on paper albut expensive but still around $2000 cheaper than the Canon 1DX-Who would have thought that,

Nikon also spat out a new lens in the 85mm F1.8 which should be a nice portrait lens

I would imagine that although its slated to be available in Feb (again ahead of the new Canon) they will be like hens teeth due to the Olympics
I look forward to seeing the first reviews

Off to bed

Dave

EV and Flash output

2012-01-06T00:10:00.000Z

Its always good to learn something new and i guess we cant know everything, I have mentioned before that i got a Joe McNally DVD for Xmas and i have watched it a couple of times and its great, Very well made, Easy to understand and full of tips, The main thing that i learned was that if you use your flashguns in TTL and use EV compensation on your camera it will affect your flash output even if your camera is set to manual, I have noticed this before but the penny has never dropped, When i shoot in my garden at night i set my camera to manual and say 1/125@F8 i set my flashguns to TTL and adjust the flash output by adjusting the (Flash) EV on my SU800 transmitter-easy but i have noticed that sometimes the flashguns seem low and need extra EV to light the scene, I now realise that the camera had a minus EV set, This has no effect on the exposure as it was set in stone in manual mode but the camera had adjusted the flash output because the camera had minus EV set, So say you shoot in AV and have the flashguns set to TTL, You have both camera and flashguns set to 0 EV and take a test shot, The scene is bright so you dial in minus 1 EV and retake a shot, What has happened is that you have reduced the brightness of the scene but you have also reduced the flash output by minus 1 so to get a flash output of 0 you have to add +1 to the flashgun-simple-well yes once you know and understand whats going on, The good thing is that if you have your camera set to manual and are using multi flash you can increase of decrease all the guns output at the same time by adding + or - EV, This applies to Nikon flashguns so i would like confirmation if this also applies to Canon guns, Most people if asked say that flash is their most understood photographic skill and i am the same, My flash use and understanding has increased 10 fold since using the Nikon system and i feel that i am starting to get to grips with it, It doesnt matter if you are learning from a portrait or wedding photographer the basics are the same, The Joe McNally DVD is expensive but you will learn so has to be worth every penny, Its especially good if you use a Nikon D700 as it shows how to set up a flash system using the built in flash commander which my friend who was visiting had on them so i could play whilst watching the DVD, When i first went over to Nikon a little over 4 years ago i spent a day just playing with the flash, I set up in my living room, I put a vase with flowers on a table and set 4 flashguns around it, I set two to the front to light the flowers and two to the back to light the background, Group A was front right, Group B was front left and Group C was the 2 flashguns at the back, I just turned on the front right, I had the camera set to 1/125@F8 which is what i would use at night, The lights were off and shutters closed so the whole room was dark, Any light in the image would be from the flashguns, I took a shot which lit the right side of the vase, I added or took away light from the flash by adjusting the EV on the SU800, Once i was happy i turned the gun off and turned on the left gun and did the same then turned that one off and turned on the 2 at the back (the SU800 can only have 3 groups) and again took a shot and adjusted the output, Once i was happy i turned on all the guns and took a shot and viola an image that looked like it had been shot in daylight, All the guns being adjustable without even moving from the camera, I now know that if i wanted to add or take away light from ALL the guns at the same time i could just adjust the EV on the camera

Dave

Dave

Last Part of Last Daytrip - final images from 2011

2012-01-05T05:00:00.000Z

Following from my earlier posts from the Forest of Dean and the Cotswolds, I promised you a few more images, so here they are. These delightful little birds were on a feeding area in the Forest and were quite accommodating.

It was particularly pleasing to get the Nuthatch as these have been pretty elusive for me photographically for a few years, and have still yet to see one in my garden in Stratford after 4 1/2 years.

All with 7D, 500f4 + 1.4 EFTC, on Gitzo 5541 tripod, Gitzo Self levelling tripod base, Arca Swiss Z1 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick for those interested in my support system. Expensive, heavy but oh so stable, easy to set up quickly, accurately and level when in a hurry.

Martin

Florida day 4

2012-01-04T13:57:00.010Z

Going back to my pre Xmas Florida trip, As we were now in Sarasota which was a place i havent been before and unlike me i had not investigated the place on line but knew from others that i had spoken to that its a very beautiful place it was time to get to know the place, Its a lot more than just great beaches and restaurants, There's a back roads to the place that took us to Myakka River State Park, Its a pretty big park that offers boats trips and bus trips both were tried and really i would say save your money and time and spend it around the beautiful lake that was teaming with wildlife from Gators to a variety of birds, My froends went off on a 1 hour boat trip so i grabbed the 600 and D7000 and headed to the water, I shot little blue heron, Stilt, Ibis, Vulture, Sandhill Crane,Osprey, Lesser Sandpiper and Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs to name but a few, The sun was high when we got there so the conditions were less than favorable but it was still very enjoyable, Its certainly a place that i would revisit and would advise anybody in the area to go to, One thing that was very noticable in Florida was the huge number of Vultures where ever you go, Both Turkey and Black vultures on the ground, In the trees and flying, I have not ever seen to many, At Myakka i was told that theres 100+ and one day we must have had 500+ flying over head, It was quite a spectical as they are such large birds, The D7000 with 600 combo certainly delivers the goods both with static birds and those flying

Not bad for an hour or so's photography in less than ideal conditions, Florida really is an amazing wildlife area, Where ever you go not only is there an abundance of wildlife but its all so relaxed and willing and a great place if you are holiday with friends or family where you can only spend a limited amount of time behind the camera

Dave

More fave images of last year - Part 7

2012-01-03T19:57:00.003Z

It was my first day back to work today after a long Christmas and New Year break, so at the end of a tiring day, it is just a quickie tonight. But one that on looking back brings me a lot of pleasure, as all of the images below were taken in my back garden last year during the months of july, August and September

So no driving around, no spending lots of money on expensive fuel, just the peace and tranquillity of my 'own patch'.

After the horrendous gales of last night, a bit of quiet reflection is just the tonic...oh yes and a glass of Jura Malt Whisky helps too

I still have some more images from my last trip out to bring, but they need processing so will have to wait a little longer.

martin

Thoughts for 2012

2012-01-02T14:59:00.003Z

Following on from Martins last post it too was a very lean year for me photographically, The year started with a bang with a fantastic trip to Japan which was made extra special in that i shared the experience with a great friend, It really was the best and most enjoyable trip i have had and i have had a lot, I also had a great trip to California, I have been many times before but this time everything came together from the weather, The amount of wildlife and spring flowers, I am back to California in a couple of weeks and this will be the first time that i have been there at this time of year,My hopes are that the elephant bull seals are still there and that i can spend some time with them, A new species for me so my hopes are high, Last year we sold our house and thats when things tended to come to a grinding halt as did my photography, Getting into our new home was like a breathe of fresh air, A good size garden gives me room for creativity so my photography will only be limited by my imagination, I have lots of ideas but it will take time to get the animals coming into the garden on a very regular basis, I am currently writing an article on my garden photography so its apt to talk about it here,, I am currently siiting in my living room writing this and watching the Joe McNally DVD that santa dropped down the chimney, I have to say that if you like to shoot portraits and just use a normal flashgun it will help tremendously, This year i will be concentrating on my local area, I live fairly rural so theres plenty of opportunities close by, I will have 1 or 2 trips to California and hope to get down to Florida at least once,
This is THE time to get a plan together for the coming year and stick by it, Work hard now if you are looking for fox and badger setts, The trees are bare so there is plenty of light in the woodland, The ferns have yet to grow and the foliage is low so with some wet weather you have a great opportunity to do some tracking and follow the animals footprints back to the sett or den or just to find and area where they are feeding or criss crossing,
I hope you all have a great year with your photography, To get success think all the time about what you want and how to go about getting it, Once you have some images in the bag start to experiment with slow shutter speeds etc to get something original but most of all have fun, If you are not having fun then whats the point??
If you need any help we are here so just post a question or send a mail and we will do our best to help

Dave

Happy New Year to our readers

2012-01-01T15:34:00.003Z

Just a short blog to wish all of you a very happy New Year, and hope that all your hopes and aspirations work out for you all.

Looking quickly back at the blog, as we enter our fourth year of blogging. We posted a total of 426 times in 2012, so as well as maintaining our 100% daily post record, we managed to squeeze in an extra 75 or so posts as well.

Photographically for me, it was by my usual standards quite a lean year as other life priorities got in the way.

Dave will not doubt fill you in with his thoughts, but I absolutely loved all of his posts from his Japanese trip in the early part of 2011. Fantastic subjects and fantastic images from a great photographer, and seeing those posts made me feel privileged to share this blog platform with him.

It would be good to have some feedback from our readers to see if tere are any areas that you would like us to cover, if we can, as it is always worthwhile being able to share things that are of use.

Look forward to hearing from you all.

Best wishes for 2012

Martin

Happy to be back

2011-12-31T15:08:00.003Z

We arrived back from NY last night, The journeys were a nightmare, We had torrential rain most of the way up and the normally 9 hour trip took over 14, At times there was 6'' plus of water on the roads which meant plenty of crashes and tail backs, The funeral was the most colourful i have ever been to with thousands of dollars worth of flowers, I was asked if i would take a few pictures which i would normally shy away from but the scene was so colourful and peaceful that i did not hesitate, There is a growing market here for funeral photograhers and i have personally been asked to do it and have always refused but of they were like this funeral with a beautiful wake and then pipers at the church which in itself was like the sistine chapel i could see that capturing the day tastefully would be worth doing, My wife's aunt was truly loved and around 400-500 people turned up at the wake and the police even supplied 8 cars to see us unstopped through the NY traffic, So a sad end to the year and we know of 3 people who passed over the Xmas period, I hope that 2012 is clear as far as funerals go as i seem to have at least 1 a year at the moment
I hope that you have a great and safe new years night and that 2012 is a good one both photographically and personally,
I can now get down to do some serious processing so that the next blogs can be somewhat more colourful

Dave

More fave images from 2011 - Part 6

2011-12-30T16:56:00.002Z

And so on to June, and it is a time of year for me when the 7D and 500 is given a bit of a rest, and the 5Dmk2 and 180 macro get busy, and this last year was no different. Taken either in my garden or on my local patch a couple of miles away, little Co2 was generated in the production of these images

Marbled White on Ox Eye Daisy in the garden

Pyramid Orchid (local patch)

A small group of Common Spotted Orchids

Bee Orchid on local pacth

Mating 5 spot burnet moths (local patch but also had them in the garden too)

Back next time with the last images from my recent day out

Martin

Some more from yesterday

2011-12-29T16:19:00.003Z

Yesterday's trip started out in the Forest of Dean at a site where I was fortunate enough to photograph Crossbills in February 2010, and posted them on the blog at the time.

Well we went back and we did see them, half a dozen of them but sadly at too great a distance for any images. It was a delight to watch them through the binos though.

The first image was as close as I got, with a test image. It is a shame as the conifers where at a better height this year to get nice diffuse non sky backgrounds.

Male Crossbill from Feb 2010 from the archives

Female Crossbill from Feb 2010 from the archives

Moving on to the next location, this friendly Robin was not at all camera shy. I was after Nuthatch at the time, but you take what you are given and be happy

At a third location, I had been photographing Nuthatch and Pied Wagtail, which you will have to wait for a later blog, when this Buzzard flew quite close by, and was lit well with the early afternoon sun.

Martin

Some photos at last !!!

2011-12-28T18:01:00.005Z

As mentioned on yesterdays blog, Jac and I took a trip out to some old haunts today, and some new ones as well. The forecast was looking good, although with quite a strong breeze, of which more in later blogs.

So here are just a few images of one delightful little male Kestrel who was hovering nicely in the afternoon sun for me. The first is quite a large crop, but after the hover, or more of a wind hang than wing beat, it came closer to me so I was able to get the second and third shots. What a stunning falcon shape it demonstrates in the last image, definitely worth a click to enlarge - beautiful bird.

Fave Images of the Year - Part 5

2011-12-27T18:55:00.004Z

With thoughts and sympathies to Dave's wife Marian as they deal with family loss at this time of year.

Tonight's blog is just a quickie with a few images of mine from May of this year. Many are nothing special photographically and are mere record shots, but they were significant for me as many were firsts for me in knowingly seeing and recognising them.

Small Blue Butterfly (1st)

Green Hairstreak

Duke of Burgundy (1st)

Wood Tiger Moth (1st)

Mullein Moth Catepiller in the garden (1st)

Cinnabar Moth, first time in the garden

Common Spotted Orchid from the local patch, first one of the season

Burnet Moth Caterpiller

Brown Argus butterfly (1st)

All being well, if the weather behaves itself, I will be out with the cameras tomorrow and see if I can remember how to use them.

Martin

A sad end to the year

2011-12-26T23:02:00.004Z

We have had a call to say that a member of my wifes family passed away over Xmas and we need to shoot up to NYC for the funeral etc so i will be away from Tuesday until Saturday, i will not have any internet so i am afraid i will have to put the load onto Martin for a few days

Dave

And from me too

2011-12-25T22:28:00.001Z

Hope you all had or a having a fab Christmas day. We are all totally stuffed out here after my marathon cooking session preparing our meals today. Great sighting this morning of the first flock of Redwings to drop into the garden while we were eating breakfast.

Martin

Merry Xmas

2011-12-25T02:01:00.001Z

Just a quicky to say a very merry Xmas to all our readers, Hope that your holidays go very well and that Santa has been good to you this year

Dave

More Fave pics of the Year - Part 4

2011-12-24T17:52:00.005Z

Just a few from April for you this evening.

At the end of the month, Jac and I spent a couple of chilly days over at Minsmere and had a great time watching the Bitterns, Marsh Harrier and various waders.

At last the garden started to come alive at the end of the month too, and I had a great time with the Damsels emerging from the pond

Christmas greetings will be posted tomorrow

Martin

Florida day 3

2011-12-23T03:17:00.008Z

Although we were in Sarasota i fancied a small trip up the coast to the famous Fort De Soto, I have been there a couple of times, In the spring its totally amazing as birds land and walk near your feet, I went this time last year when it was very cold and miserable and it was devoid of anything at all, The weather here has been great and as soon as we neared the island we could see lots of birds including rosette spoonbills, I didnt have much time as we are with friends but i did manage to wander off and get some waders and terns, I used the D7000 with the 600 to get decent reach without having to use a 1.4x although i will say that the birds will wander close enough if you are still not to need such a big lens, The D7000/600 combo is a good one, The D7000 really is very good with good glass, The AF was quick as you can see with the willet landing, I followed it in getting shots along the way all of which were sharp, Most of the shots were taken early afternoon in bright sun which isnt the best but it was basically all the time i had, The oyster catcher was early evening and i had to use some fill flash to lighten the dark back, Overall a good result from limited time

Dave

Thursday Night Late Quickie

2011-12-22T21:03:00.003Z

Well my Christmas holiday period started today, only in the sense that I didn't go to my place of work.

With the start of a number of family visits, seemingly never ending Tesco runs, house tidying, cleaning, cooking and other chores have been the order of the day, and it was a pleasure to sit down with a fine glass of Jura Malt Whisky a few minutes ago.

Which is why it is a late and quick one tonight.

In a story that caught my eye a couple of days ago was about a number of birds that 'crash landed' into a car park in Utah,

The story here tells of the death of about 1500 Eared Grebes. In the UK we know them as Black Necked Grebes. I am not sure what resident or migratory populations we get in the UK, and neither is the BTO, but it probably isn't as high as that. Although as a global status they are not threatened.

But nevertheless, what a terrible and unbelievable tragedy for these beautiful little birds.

And while I wont need to remind the enlightened readers of our blogs about the dangers of Christmas food for our birds, this story is worth reminding so that you can tell well meaning friends and family who otherwise don't know.

Right, it is time for another Jura and relax

Martin

Florida day 2

2011-12-21T02:40:00.005Z

The first day we spent in Kings springs at the Crystal river, I had asked the captain if we could go there as it was Sunday and would be very busy, Although Kings Spring has a green water its deep, Around 10 feet which would mean that people could not stand and kick silt up, There are normally many more manatees there as well and so it was, Monday would mean less people although at this time of year it would still be busy it would be much less so than the weekend so i asked to visit 3 sisters springs which is very shallow (you can stand in most of it) but the water really is crystal clear-think gin or vodka clear, I was surprised to see people in the water when we got there just after 7am and a boat right behind me however i quickly swam straight past the group and went to the bottom spring which was like a graveyard of sleeping manatees, Lots and lots and lots of manatees, There were a couple of playful manatees keeping the group happy but i stayed with the sleepers in the cristal clear water and managed to get both playful and normal manatee images in nice clear water, I did have my friends with me and one that was not comfortable in water but at the end of the day she was happily playing with manatees and will have memories to treasure for life, Truly amazed at how the gentle giants made here feel and you could sense the elation,It was indeed a triumph all round and as usual an almost spiritual experience, I could do this forever,It was not all plain sailing though as i quickly filled 24 gigs worth of memory and had to go back to the boat to reload, I could not have sealed the bag 100% and an hour later i got out only to find quite a bit of water in the camera bag but luckily everything seems fine, I used auto ISO for the first time-i am a bit slow- and it worked great,Every image sharp and well exposed shooting from ISO 3200 down to around 400 as the light came up, We went to the beach in the afternoon where there was a good group of birds when we arrived but before i could get the gear out some fuckers-opps sorry lovely young children-chased them away leaving gulls for the whole time that we were there, We did however enjoy the warm 70+ weather,We left the Crystal river after lunch and headed south to Sarasota which was a new area to me and finally time to relax.

Here is my friend Judy how is having fun with a manatee that wants its tummy rubbed whilst behind her 2 more manatees sleep on the river floor

More fave pics of the Year - Part 3

2011-12-20T18:56:00.007Z

While Dave brings you some new pics from his current trip, with the dark and dreary days of winter here, and being chained to a work desk, new images have been very rare for me, but if you allow me to indulge, I will share a few more of my favourites of the year in a look back.

March was a good month for me in more ways than one.

Firstly, it was fantastic to get married to my lovely Jacqui in Scotland and then to spend a couple of days in Dorset afterwards and grab a few images.

POrtland Bill lighthouse at sunset with 10x ND to 'slow' the water

Sunrise at the Bill looking east

Red Breasted Merganser with Shore Crab

Hoope at the Bill

End of teh day - Pulpit Rock, sunset at the Bill

Frogs from my garden

Hooded Merganser, a long term resident living in the wrong part of the world at RSPB Radipole

Spoonbill at RSPB Lodmoor

Jac n me on our special day

Shortest day for those of us in the Northern hemisphere tommorrow. Always a significant day in my mind, as for me it signifies that Spring isn't far away, even though we are not long into winter

Martin

Florida day 1

2011-12-19T02:00:00.004Z

A big hello from sunny Florida, It took 11.5 hours to get here but its worth every second, The weather is perfect, Clear blue skies and around 70 degrees going up near 80 tomorrow, We went out on the crystal river very early today and instantly was surrounded by manatees, Lots of mothers with young and lots and lots of interaction between the manatees and us, The water was pretty cloudy and green and i knew it would be busy, The light was non existent when we arrived and even when the sun came up it was low shutter speeds all the way, I had set my ISO to 800 which is normally ok but i have set it to auto ISO as i would rather have a sharp grainy image than a blurry soft image, After the manatees and lunch we went to the beach and as we arrived we saw a good size flock of skimmers but before i had chance to get the gear out some kids chased them off and in the 2 hrs we were there they did not return just leaving us with gulls and grackles so i took a handful of images and left, We went back to the river as the sun was setting and found an Osprey on a power pole near the road and managed to get some nice shots, We are off straight after the manatees in the morning for a drive down to Saraosta so i can down load the images and have time to process a few then, Until then just the one manatee shot-more to come

Sorry about the quick processing, I am rushed for time so the vigentting etc will have to wait

Dave

More fave pics of the Year - Part 2

2011-12-18T20:31:00.003Z

From February of this year, I took a couple of trips to Slimbridge and enjoyed getting images of the Mute and Bewicks Swans, and various Geese species that were in then.

This beautiful Buzzard posed nicely for and enabled me to switch around bodies between my 7D and newly acquired 5Dmk2. This image was from the 5Dmk2, which has without doubt been my 'Best Buy' this year

This was one from the garden - Fem Gt. Spotted Woodpecker

This last little 'boring Brown duck' from Slimbridge has been included, simply because it was a lifer for me. Female Lesser Scaup. Might be rare, but it is still boring in my book. As I blogged at the time 'Not much of a Birder'

I had planned to go out to a site that I know of that is not too far from me where there a few Short Eared Owls have been sighted, but the weather has been pretty crappy in the afternoons round here. Both days this weekend, it has been bright and sunny up until just after 1pm, which is about when I would leave, and then has closed in with rain, sleet, snow and hail at times. The web is alive with images, tweets, and messages about SEO's at the moment. I haven't gone to that particular honeypot site, about an hour from here, although it is not difficult to find due to the web traffic but I am not going to join the big crowds.

With a good few days off over Christmas, I will bide my time, wait for the weather and take my chances then.

Martin

On my way

2011-12-17T03:00:00.001Z

As you read this i will be driving down to Florida, Its a fair trek from my house to Crystal River where the manatees are, It will take around 12 hours including a couple of stops, So an early start and then early to bed as we have to be at Birds Underwater for 6.15am to get ready and be the first out on the water, My friends from the UK have never been and i am sure that they will be as aprehensive as i was the first time i got into the water and one of these leviathans of the deep swam out of the mirk straight at me, Once you have done it once its addictive and i would love to be able to spend 3 or 4 weeks totally concentrating on these amazing creatures, The forecast looks pretty good so fingers crossed and i hope to be able to post some decent images next time

Dave

A look back at some of my favourite pics of the year

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000Z

In the last couple of years, I have written a review of the year on a month by month basis, but this year I thought I would just put up a few of my favourite images that I have been lucky enough to get or had a great expereince while taking.

While regular readers will probably remember them, maybe some of our newer readers will not have seen them before

In January, I shared a few images from my Norfolk trip

Jac and I had a great three days in North Norfolk, with some great sightings. Sadly, the weather was misty and very murky, so it was always a photographic challenge. But we loved the encounters with the wildlife all the same. Often at times like this it is the taking part that counts, rather than the results.

Martin

Time for a clean and brush up

2011-12-15T16:38:00.002Z

All the gear is ready for the Florida trip on Saturday, I have had both the EWA marine underwater housing and the Panasonic compact sitting in a bath full of water to test for leaks and so far all is good, The lenses have been cleaned with ROR cleaner that my friend Dave Newton put me onto and yesterday i had a delivery of sensor cleaners from BHPHOTOVIDEO so i can now clean my dirty D3s sensor, I use Visible Dust swabs along with Visible Dust solution which i find works very well at getting all the crud off, I have to say the FF sensors seem to get a lot dirtier than the cropped sensors and are a pain in the butt to get totally clean but when shooting underwater or in the sky with large areas of light clear background any spots show up so better to spend 30 mins cleaning now than hours in front of a PC later, Like anything get the preparations done now for a smooth ride ahead

Dave

Hen Harrier extinction in England?

2011-12-14T19:26:00.002Z

Regular readers will know that this is a subject that I have blogged on a number of times, but a new report out prepared by the RSPB and Natural England, commissioned by the Government has concluded that the Hen Harrier is likely to become extinct in England as a breeding bird in the near future.

Human persecution from guess where? - the Shooting community - those guardians of wildlife and carers for all things natural!!! A sick joke and pure hypocrisy.

Just four pairs on a single estate in the Forest of Bowland is all that remain.

It deeply saddens me that it has come to this and there is no excuse that it happens or that it is allowed to happen.

It remains good news that places like the Outer Hebrides still support a good community as readers will remember from my trip reports from North Uist last year.

Martin

Busy time

2011-12-13T14:39:00.006Z

The Xmas decorations are up inside and outside the house, The pressy's are wrapped and we are pretty much ready, Our friends arrive from the UK on Friday afternoon and then we are off to Florida early Saturday morning, Its a long drive down to crystal river from here, about 11 hours so we wont get there until the late afternoon/early evening and then 2 early mornings swimming with the Manatees, There wont be much time to think before coming back Xmas eve and then leave for New York 2 days after Xmas, Somewhere between coming back from NY and going to California at the end of January i am trying to fit in a trip to New Jersey to shoot the harlequin ducks etc like i did 2 years ago, I have the use of a beach house there so its just petrol and food so its do able, It always seems that my early year and late year are busy and the middle is quite on the travel front, I dont see 2012 being any different, I hope to get down to Florida when i get back from California and then save hard for the end of 2012 when i will celebrate my 20 years of marriage and all things going well we will get back to Australia, Its 4 years since our last visit and i really want to get back, Its a fantastic place and the shots from there have sold well,
The weather here has changed and the Nights/mornings are cold and frosty, Its bought in some winter visitors to the garden in the way of dark eyed Junco and Robins, The feeders have been much more busy as the normal garden birds are busy feeding, The woodpecker branch is in constant use and yesterday we watched as 2 fed and chased each other around the garden, Dogs still come into the garden at night but the deer and opossum are sill coming, I just hope that next year we will see fox and cubs, This time of year is a great time to start searching for fox dens, The trees being bare means good light in the woodland and the after rain you can see and follow fox and deer foot marks in the mud, Deer and fox use the same paths, I find that fox like an area of woodland near to fields so thats where i tend to start looking, I normally like to find 3 or 4 dens and as spring arrives start to feed near them and then pick the best 1 or 2 that are not to dark, I was at a party last week and was asked out of all the animals that i have photographed over the years what is my favorite which is difficult, My answer was that although Tigers are my favorite animal i have to say that i love to photograph the fox, They are in pretty much every country in one form or another and are real survivors, They can range from the easiest animal to shoot if they are habituated or the most difficult if totally wild, I like the challenge of the truly wild fox, Most people have foxes living not far from the houses and this is an added attraction as it means that where ever you are you have a great project on your doorstep
Here is a Manatee shot from last Xmas, Its a very busy time there and not the best time to go but as we are there what the hell

Crystal River where the Manatees are is a bit of a 1 horse town but there is a very small beach area about 9 miles away which had a lot of birds on it last year so i will be spending the late afternoon there

Dave

Windy night

2011-12-12T21:06:00.002Z

Looks like it is our turn to get the windy weather tonight that the north has recently been experiencing. With winds already at 50mph locally and the pressure dropping fast, we can only expect things to get rougher. So fingers crossed that not too much damage results

As I walked back across the bridge in Stratford tonight, I saw a Grey Heron immediately next to the road and pathway, quite unfazed by me, a number of other people and vehicles. Guess it is looking for an easier option in the choppy conditions as the water in that part of the basin was quite calm due to the shelter, although its night vision must be pretty good.

One frequent result from these extreme wind conditions that often arises is the further influx of unusual wind blown visitors, so will we see another lot of visitors from Daves side of the pond turning up? I will keep my eyes open to the various twitter feeds.

So for those experiencing excessive wind tonight, I will keep my fingers crossed that the consequences are minimal. And you can read that how you wish :-)

Martin

Free ebook

2011-12-11T15:25:00.002Z

We like free stuff, For 24 hrs only you can download a book on safari photography here, I just downloaded it and it looks like an interesting read, The photographer uses Nikon gear but that should not stop others from having a read

Dave

Wind Casualty in Dyer Garden

2011-12-10T19:16:00.003Z

While a massive storm battered the north of the UK, in particlaur giving Scotland a hammering on Thursday this week, close to my back door, my woodpecker tree was felled by the strong winds.

After Dave's recent post on the subject, it motivated to put my tree back up.

Sadly though, being an old piece of friable Silver Birch, the base wood is pretty much gone and it has badly split under the wind load.

So it is back out to the countryside soon to find a replacement.

It has seen a few past successes, and now it is time for it to become decaying log material for the small bugs and beetles to benefit from.

Here is an image of it back in February this year in action.

There has been a second tree fall today as well, but this time inside the house.

We popped out to get our Christmas tree today, which has pride of place in the front window. It had been up for about an hour before it was felled to the ground as an inquisitive and playful Burmese kitten decided it would be good fun to jump into it. I was however expecting it so it will get decorated tomorrow, once he and his brother have acclimatised to it, although I expect baubles will prove to be just too tempting.

Further afield in Northants, it seems that the Short Eared Owls are generating vast packs of photographers, so that rules me out going there, and down at Slimbridge, a similar story is unfolding for the Bittern there. Pack hunting isn't for me, and I have a pretty good library of images of both bird now.

New Gear

2011-12-09T15:57:00.003Z

Some of my new gear has arrived, The shorter column now sits happily on the Manfrotto 055 Pro, Its actually a major improvement and anybody who has one of these tripods and does nature photography should spend the $30 and get one, The Manfrotto is my backup tripod so i havent bothered with it much but i will now be using the 600 on the gitzo and the 200-400 on the manfrotto at the same time so its about to get plenty of use,
The pop up Black velvet background is an unknown as its creased to buggery and is currently hanging up in the hope that the creases disappear, I took a few test shots yesterday and the creases were very evident, I think maybe moving the subject a bit further away from the background will help so i will be testing it further over the next few days and then decide if its its going back,
The Joe McNally named Lastolite Ezybox is a very nice bit of kit for the traveling portrait shooter and i am sure it will find its way into being used in some nature photography as well, Just go to you tube and put in lastolite ezybox and see how many ways it can be used especially with all the different screens etc, They do them in many sizes, Mine is 24'' but they do a nice small hotshoe sized one that would be great in my garden set up and when funds allow i will get 2 for the front flashguns, They have 2 diffusers so allow the light to soften nicely, One thing to remember with softboxes is that the larger the box the softer the light so don't expect great light like i get from my 50'' boxes from a 8'' box but they will be a good improvement over just the bare flashgun-not cheap and what is but very very nice
The Joe McNally DVD is still in transit and i am hoping it will arrive today or tomorrow as it was in Raleigh yesterday, If you are going to learn then learn from the best and Joe is a master of light and using flashguns, His blog is also a good read as are his books which i have
Our friends are moving house so we have their dog Jazzy for a few days to help out, Jazzy and Alfie make good models and yesterday they posed happily infront of the new gear and i managed to play around with the Ezybox to see what the images would be like compared to my Elinchrom studio lights, I even managed to get them both working together

Photographers Ephemeris....or where the Sunrises/Sunsets to you and me

2011-12-08T05:00:00.001Z

I have blogged about this great bit of software before a couple of years ago.

Having had it on my Netbook for more than two years, it is one of the great tools for both wildlife and landscape photographers in that you can check anywhere in the world and on any day of the year where and when the sun comes up and goes down. It is a tool that I used when taking the shots on this blog earlier this year.

For PC use, you will need to download Adobe Air.

However, Stephen Trainor has added the App version for iOS, again which I blogged about earlier this year, and more importantly it is now available on the Android system, so I now have it on my Galaxy S2 phone and Galaxy Tab 10.1.

If you check out this link here, you will see the full details, and check in at the Android Market for the App, although it is a paid app so you will have to pay a small fee. Oh and I 'spose you can get it at the Apple App store too :-)

Martin

Garden,Xmas and travel

2011-12-07T16:32:00.003Z

The night creature that's been eating my bait turned out to be a dog and a big one at that, I couple of bangs with the BB gun should see that it wont be back any time soon, The opossums seem to have done their disappearing acts, I have seen this before, They come every night on the dot and then disappear for weeks or even months for no apparent reason, I guess they have no set territory and are really travelers so i hope they soon return,I have been told of a neighbor about 1/2 mile away that feeds foxes everyday and the foxes have become habituated, Well i met her at a meeting the other night and sure enough she has 3-4 fox most days/nights in her garden and they are relaxed enough to take food from her and sit/lay around whilst she is close by, I now have an invitation to shoot in her garden, Last week i met with people who have 4 different woodpeckers in their garden including pileated so i will take them up o their invitation too,We are getting up to 9 deer at any one time in the garden but that's not what i am really after and really hope to get a fox family that i can work with long term,
I ordered some new gear the other day and most of it should arrive today, As i am doing more and more studio work and would really like to get to grips with good portraiture i ordered Joe McNallys new DVD 'The Language of light' along with a 24'' Ezybox softbox (Mcnally design) which i will use for both portraiture and in the garden to get nice soft light, Light direct from the flash can be pretty harsh, The Ezybox will take a normal flashgun , My Manfrottto 055 pro tripod has a long centre column so i ordered a short one for it to allow for lower shooting, I also ordered a black velvet pop up background mainly for portraits but may be used for hummingbirds etc, there are plenty of things that i would like but i can make money out the portrait stuff so they were a priority,
I have just booked my flights for California in January where i hope to shoot Elephant Bull Seals and will be off to Florida in just over a week which i cant wait for

Dave

A few more (unlikely) Gift Ideas

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000Z

Here are a few 'off the wall' things for wildlife photographers to consider as addition to their Christmas Stocking, if you happen to wear them.

A few 'camo' items to think about

Flash or lightweight camera supports

Finally, if you are like me and get bored with endless hours in pop up hides or reserve hides waiting for something (often nothing) to appear, and boredom sets into the desire to eat, I can thoroughly recommend these babies.

Not easy to find in the shops except for the Cadbury Outlet stores, it is worth sticking a few in your camera bag to bring a smile to your face

Happy Chomping

Martin

The weekend

2011-12-05T21:17:00.008Z

Where did the weekend go? 2 partys, some shopping and a family shoot and whoosh its Monday, I have spent today processing the weekends images which i hope they are happy with, Its nice to work in controlled conditions and it was nice to have the studio lights set up again, Its certainly easier to make money doing portraits than trying to sell an images of an opossum but not half the fun, Either way i enjoyed it even though they say dont work with animals or children, 1 girl of 2 and a half and one of 21 days, I have continued to put some bait in the garden and something has been coming in and really digging to get every bit, I think the disturbance is too big for an opossum and must be either a fox,raccoon or dog, I will be keeping a closer look out to see whats going on, I really hope its not a dog and that a fox or raccoon is now feeding there but we will see

For those of you interested both Martin and Myself have Elinchrom D lites for our studio gear, Very easy to use and not overly expensive, I have the D-lite 4 with a 53'' octa softbox as my main light and a D-lite 4 with standard softbox for fill

Dave

Drought conditions continue

2011-12-04T16:08:00.003Z

I wasn't referring to the weather conditions, although we haven't had a lot of rain recently. No I was thinking photographically.

I had decided this weekend I would get out to one of three locations.

Was it to be from the choice of a couple of Bitterns that are making a regular appearance at Slimbridge at the moment or across to Northants where there are reports of a lot of Short Eared Owls making regular shows, or should I stay closer to home and concentrate on my own garden subjects?

Dave's recent blogs on his woodpecker perch encouraged me to get my 'woodpecker' silver birch back into service.

So I did that yesterday , mixed up a load of fat, suet, seeds, nuts etc and liberally spread the stuff around to see if I could attract any garden wildlife.

It has been quite a lean spell with only occasional flurries of activity. I thought after the last short colder spell of a few days that we had got the birds back in from the countryside, but they have disappeared again.

So that didn't bode too well.

Waking up early this morning, or should I say being woken up by the two Burmese kittens that live with us, the light was dull grey flat and threatening rain. That ruled out an early drive to Slimbridge for me - it have got lots of flat grey ducks in my archives thanks.

Second choice of garden birds was looking bleak too, with just a few Magpie, Wood Pigeon and Blackbirds making use of the food I had put out.

And with the light staying rubbish, what was the point of an hours drive across to Northants. I have got lots of SEO's in fine light.

So a day in the kitchen preparing fine food on the run up to Christmas, and ice cream just coz I like it was a better use of my time today.

But I am getting itchy shutter finger nevertheless, and as I finish this blog off this afternoon, listening to the wonderful late Gary Moore playing Parisienne Walkways on Planet Rock radio, it has started to rain heavily - drought over!!

A few winter/Xmas ideas

2011-12-03T17:28:00.004Z

A quick one from me as i have spent the morning shooting a family in my home studio for their Xmas cards etc and now a trip to the sales before a party this evening. I have been making a small list of things that may want the wife/girlfriend to add to the Xmas stocking after the camero of course, As winter is coming or already here for some there are some winter ideas as well
1.Memory cards, I know we have mentioned these before but they have dropped considerably in price and are niow a bargain and you can never have too many, Martin and myself recommend Sandisk
2.Filters-ND,Grad and polorisers are all very handy (make sure that they are good ones)
3.Spare Battery-The cold kills batteries although the batteries in the new cameras are amazing in how long they last, Dont go out on a cold day without one
4.Double Bubble hot show level-One of the best things ever invented and worth every penny, I rarely have one off the hotshoe
5.Hide/Blind, Good deals in the sales on the pop up hides at around $60-woth having a spare and THE best way of getting close to wildlife
6.Flashgun, Not cheap but if you havent got one you will need one and if you have one an extra gives more ways of using light especially at night
7.Underwear-yes thats right, Keeping warm in winter is very important and good quality long johns and long sleeved vest are worth every penny, If you are not warm/comfortable then you are not enjoying yourself so whats the point, I have cableas military range and under armour which are both excellent,
8.Raincover-I mentioned the new ones from lenscoat about a week ago, Keep your gear dry and it will last
9.Plamp, This is something i have yest to get but every year i wish i had one, It will keep things still whilst doing macro and will hold a reflector and free a hand up
10.Reflector, Get a 5-1 or multi sided/coloured reflector for you macro and portrait sessions,Gives a nicer light than flash, I have had mine years and its still like new

Happy shopping

Dave

Some more Christmas Ideas for you

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000Z

Picking up from Daves blog of yesterday, these are the new Phottix wireless triggers for you in either Nikon or Canon flavours, depending on your persuasion.

A couple of other favourites of ours include two of the main bits of Adobe software.

Firstly, Photoshop, here in upgrade versions for PC and Mac

And Lightroom, the all in one processing software in full or upgrade variants.

Happy Shopping

Martin

Flash

2011-12-01T14:39:00.004Z

Yesterday Nikon announced a new flagship Flashgun, The SB910, Looking at the specs its nothing more than a revised and tweeked SB900, There are very few differences, The main one being that people have been having problems with the SB900 thermal cut out, If you use the flash heavily it will protect itself from over heating by not working, Imagine that at a wedding, The new one changes this by slowing down, i still dont think that is the answer as you will still miss shots but i guess that you can turn it (the thermal cutout) off if you want, Other changes are that you can illuminate the back buttons which is a good idea for people like myself who shoot a lot in the dark and it has a couple of clip on filters instead of gels, Thats about it apart from a price hike, Now a top of the range flashgun is going to cost around $550, I currently have and use 4 guns and would like to add 2 more so it starts to get very expensive unless you use a cheap manual gun and put them on some kind of trigger
like radio poppers,pocket wizards or even cheaper ones like these, If you look on ebay you can buy transmitters/receivers for around $30, The benefits are that you can use them without line of sight which believe me is great and you are not stuck with any particular brand so you canon boys can use the great Nikon flash system, I know people that use very old and very cheap guns by using these systems and they work great,
Multi flash is great to use and for hummingbirds or night time animals its really the only way to get great images that have depth,
One thing i will say is that i dont know anybody who uses the cheap stuff off of ebay but at that price it may well be worth the risk
One thing that i like when using multi flash is the Nikon SU 800 transmitter, Its very simple to use and shows what your flash groups are set at on the LCD on the back, Its a huge step up from the Canon ST-E2 which works ok but is very basic in comparison, If you are a Canon user then take a look at the new Phottix sytem which is basically a rip off of the Nikon system, You can find it at the Naturescapes store, If i were a Canon shooter i would defiantly get one
Dave

Photographers prosecuted for disturbing WT Eagles

2011-11-30T19:21:00.004Z

We have said it many times before on this blog and shared previous examples where photographers have transgressed the law.

Once again, in this story here, two photographers have been prosecuted, rightly so for disturbing a pair of White Tailed Eagles on Mull.

As someone who has made a number of visits to Mull, I know these particular birds and have had the pleasure of seeing them, and photographing them from places far from their nesting site, as a result of seeing where they fly, and huge amounts of patience and a large sprinkling of luck.

I will not give them the honour of referring to them as wildlife photographers as they clearly had no regard for their subject. Go away and don't darken our subjects with your appalling behaviours.

Subject comes first, image last.

Martin

Proof of the Pudding

2011-11-29T13:38:00.004Z

I sat out in my blind yesterday after watching a hairy woodpecker feeding early on, It took a couple of hours but eventually the hairy woody dropped down and started to feed, They are very small and i wish that i had taken my 1.4x there with me so had to crop a bit to get the best composition, Shortly after the hairy left i could hear the red bellied in the woodland, It didnt take long to see it and although skittish it landed on the perch and had a good feed, The D7000 and 600 was perfect for this larger woodpecker, I was still using the old perch so had to clone some bits in and out to make a decent looking image, I did cut a new perch yesterday morning out its not drilled yet and i have also found some vines in the woodland that i will cut and wrap around it to add to the image, I normally look for dropped branches for my perches but we have a couple of young trees that have bent over due to strangling by vines when they were younger and they are an eye-saw so i cut them down and will reuse then for future projects,

The weather yesterday was perfect, Overcast but quite bright, I had to use ISO 800 to get 1/125 but with careful setting up you can get sharp images, Once the light dropped to 1/60 i packed up,The background is the far end of the garden which is a couple of hundred feet away and at F8 becomes nicely diffused

Dave

Super Monday - Shop till you(r card) drops

2011-11-28T18:38:00.004Z

I heard on the radio news this morning that today is supposed to be Super Monday when most of the Internet Shopping for Christmas is being done.

So with that in mind, here are a few gift ideas for you to show your partners/spouses, wife's/husbands/girlfriend/boyfriend or just family or friend.

Lets get the cards out of the way first.

You can never have too many and Dave and I are both fans of Sandisk.

A new and neat little device I got hold of this year for remote wireless and timelapse use is as follows in either Canon or Nikon flavour, and much cheaper than the offerings from the manufacturers

For me, it is vital to have the best ID books on the shelf. Not knowing what your subject is is for me probably the worst no-no as a wildlife photographer.

Here are some suggestions that I have found to be excellent in use from the Collins range

Other gems that have an important place on my bookshelf include

Dave will share a few of his ideas in a future blog and I will also put a few more suggestions up later this week.

Have fun convincing those that are buying you gifts, or alternately do what I do and just buy for yourself anyway :-)

Martin

Making a Woodpecker Perch

2011-11-27T16:10:00.008Z

The woodpecker perch in my garden is now a big hit, Just watching today for an hour we had Carolina Wren, Hairy and Red Bellied woodpeckers all feeding on it, We also had 2 flickers in a close by tree which was nice to see, The perch is very dried out and tired so its time to make a new one, Problem is that my paddle bit has gone missing so a trip to the store is needed, i will run through how i go about making one, Firstly i need a branch around 2-3'' in diameter and around 4 feet long, The width is good for most woodpeckers, I dont want a big thick branch as it will make the tint hairy woodpeckers look out of place, The 4 feet length is a good height as sometimes other birds will land on top and you can get an eye level shot without the 'looking up' at the bird shot, I find one of the best places to look for a perch is either near a lake or a dark damp forest where there is a good chance of finding a good looking mossy branch, Unfortunately here in NC its normally very hot and dry and if you are lucky enough to find a nice mossy perch it will be dry and dead in a few days, Once you have your perch you need to drill 3 or 4 holes around 20mm or 3/4'' down one side in a line about 6-8'' apart, Look at the perch first to find the nicest looking side as this will be the front, Drill 90 degrees to the front, You can drill both sides if you want, Have an idea of the time of day you will shoot and the suns direction so that the perch does not cause heavy shadows when you shoot, Once you have drilled the holes you need to place the perch infront of the hide/blind, I either bang a wooden peg into the ground and then screw and tie warp the perch to it or if you want to be abit more mobile use a Xmas tree stand which work really well, Once the perch is in place get a fat block and dig a piece of fat out with a small spoon, Hold the spoon up to the hole and with your thumb push the fat into the hole, Pack the hole out with fat and push it in tight so that the fat is concave and no fat will be poking out and getting into the shot, Clean around the holes with your thumb and you are good to go, If there is some food in the shot or you can see part of the hole you can clone that section out in processing
Here is my old perch, 4 feet high and 2'' wide, Hold up by tie wraps and screwed at the base to a wooden peg

20mm or 3/4'' Holes down 1 side
Use fat from a fat block available at supermarkets and pet stores
Using a small spoon, Scoop some fat out and place the spoon at the hole and push the fat into the hole, Get as much fat in as possible by compacting the fat with your thumb
The hole will look like this when its finished, Clean any fat that's outside the hole with the spoon or your thumb
Check the perch every morning for signs of use, Once the fat is found and they start to eat make sure that its 'topped' up as soon as its empty which will be 2-3 times a day, Consistency is the key, If the birds come and there isnt any food they will soon stop,
To make the perch extra photogenic wrap some ivy or climbing plant around the perch fixing at the back with a staple, Use something that's in keeping and not too big as it will look odd with a small woodpecker, Be careful when wrapping the ivy around as to not get in the way of the holes or when shooting will not get in the way of the birds face

Dave

Sometimes the image you see isnt there

2011-11-26T20:35:00.004Z

A few weeks ago we Jac and I went to Westonbirt Arboretum, there were two shots I had in my head that I wanted to get based on my expectations of the likely weather conditions.

Well I was pleased to share this with you that was one of those shots.

But enough of that.

The other shot I wanted to get was overlooking the village of Chipping Campden, with layers of mists and fog in the rolling valleys into the sunrise.

Well all those elements are the picture, but they haven't come together in the way I had envisaged, in a cohesive composition.

So it is back to the drawing board, I will have another scout around, this time with camera and different lenses. I think want I want is there somewhere, and quite nearby.

Anyway, as you can see the weather conditions were perfect for me, but that is only one part of the story. Till next time

Apart from that, I had a cracking day today, despite the cold/cough being a real pain. We had a family outing to see Gloucester v Leicester Tigers in the Rugby Premier League. It has been few years since I last went to a game, and what a great atmosphere it was.

Have a good weekend

Martin

Woodpeckers

2011-11-25T20:51:00.004Z

We have been in the new house for a month and so far the bird scene in the garden has been slow, We have a family of chickadees, A couple of Tufted Titmice and the odd Cardinal along with a lot of crows, Nothing to write home about and i hope that more will arrive as time and winter comes, I have 3 seed/nut feeders out as well as a fat block, I said to my wife that i was disappointed that we have not had any woodpeckers, The fat block being totally untouched, I dug out my old woodpecker branch that i successfully used last year and put it in the garden, I put some fat in the predrilled holes and 3 hours later there was a hairy woodpecker feeding on it, I could not believe it, It came and went all afternoon and i sat out for a couple of hours trying to get it, I had a red bellied woodpecker come and check it out a couple of times, So it shows that its not the food but how it is presented that matters, The woodies have continued to come over the last couple of days as when i check the holes that are totally empty, What with Thanksgiving yesterday and Black Friday today i havent had the cameras out but that will change tomorrow, Here are a couple of images taken last year using the woodpecker branch and in my next blog i will show you how to make one

Dave

Happy Thanksgiving from the UK

2011-11-24T19:58:00.002Z

Very short quickie tonight as full blown man flu has kicked in and I am feeling very poorly tonight. So I will wish all of our US readers a happy thanksgiving on the day the Christmas lights are switched on in my home town of Stratford upon Avon, Willam Shakespeare birthplace and home town too. So I am tucked warm with my first glass of Mulled wine of the season....medicinal purposes of course. Martin

Thanks Giving and Sales

2011-11-23T15:58:00.004Z

Christmas is getting close and soon i will put up a recommended Xmas list that you can accidentally leave around for your partner, But here in the States its Thanks Giving tomorrow and one of the main holidays of the year, Friday here is called 'Black Friday' for some unknown reason to me and there are some big sales on, I had a mail from Lenscoat today showing some new products and as its coming up to winter one of the new Raincoats would be a good investment, I use lens coat products and they are excellent and highly recommended so take a look at the video made by my old friend Juan Pons and see for yourself-Here

So a Happy Thanks Giving to all my American Buddies, have a good and safe Holiday

Dave

A plan works

2011-11-23T15:43:00.002Z

With the back feeling better i again ventured out into the night for opossum shots, I had an image in mind which is always a good start, I wanted the opossum to be standing beside the tree looking at me, Now you do not see opossums standing up as they walk around on all fours so how to get it up on its back legs, Well it was quite easy, I put a very small amount of food next to the tree where it normally feeds, I then squashed a few pieces of dog food into the bark up to about opossum eye level, I hoped that it would smell the food and raise up, After a couple of hours an opossum came out and up to the feeding area, I watched through the viewfinder as it fed and then once the food had gone started to sniff around and found the food up the tree, I stupidly hit the focus button and the camera hunted in the low light and i only got focus back after the opossum had dropped down and moved off, The camera would snap into focus on the tree but the opossum just did not have enough contrast for the focus system to grab, I was feeling pretty stupid as i had focused on the tree where the food was and using F11 the chances are that the opossum would have been in focus, I refocused and noticed that most of the food was still squashed into the bark, I sat for another 30 minutes and then decided as i was getting a stiff back to come in, I just got outside the camo netting when i noticed another opossum coming out of the woodland at the end of the garden, This one was very dark and obviously different from the other one, I crept back slowly to the camera and knelt down and waited, The opossum was very shy, I went to the second feeding area and with nothing their came towards where the bait was but stopped half way as it looked at the tripod with the flashgun on it, It circled back and made a huge circle of the area before coming to the baited tree, It smell around and then reared up to get the bait, I waited and made a small noise in hopes of not scaring it away but to make it glance over, It didnt so i grabbed the shot and it high tailed it out of the area and back into the woods, I quickly grabbed my gear and packed up, Putting more bait out and left, I was quite chuffed as the plan had pretty much worked and i finally had nailed the exposure.
Once again i used the D3s and 600 along with 2x SB600 flashguns
Dave

Some reflections from today

2011-11-22T19:06:00.002Z

Fairly short blog tonight as I am feeling a bit poorly, so I thought I would reflect on a couple of things and share with you.

Bad backs? Are they a sympton or an occupational hazard for wildlife photographers. After all we carry around large, heavy and cumbersome loads with big lenses, heavy tripods, hides, plus a miscellany of other gear, using sharp movements to hoik the gear around, when we might be cold and stiff, plus we often walk long distances with it. With Dave experiencing it, another photographer I follow on twitter, plus me from time to time, I think we have to put it down as an occuaptional hazard.

I have thought about and tried various methods in the past. My big lens bag is a good solution but it doesnt actually reduce the weight. I have thought of converting my old golf trolley. This isnt as daft as it sounds, as I saw I guy had a large trolley for his gear when I was at Bradgate Park last month shooting the Red Deer, but haven't been brave enough to avoid the ridicule.

I think Dave now has the right idea with his Mobility Scooter that he has just taken delivery of :-).

Talking of Red Deer, it seems from Twitter that this clip went viral today. Now while this has caused the twitterati much entertainment, and I too laughed when I saw it, it does shows the perils of loose dogs to wildlife, and so I hope that the Deer weren't too traumatised. Having said that, in the environment of Richmond Park, I should imagine this is pretty much a regular occurrence for them along with all the myriad of other disturbances.

Finally, again from Twitter, I see the Welsh WildLife Trust appear to be supporting this reintroduction of Beavers in to Wales. I am not convinced that this should be happening yet. The Pilot trial is in Scotland and I would have thought the more scientific approach is to carry out the trials for at least five years to see all the effects on the animals themselves, the environment they live in, and the effects of the native wildlife. It is poor science in my opinion to carry out additional random trials. Our countryside is full of the effects of uncontrolled reintroductions, or introductions. So while, I am not against this, per se, I would like to see the science and the evidence properly carried out first.

Let us know your thoughts

Right, time to get a hot toddy or three

Martin

Oh my Aching Head

2011-11-21T15:46:00.008Z

The back ache is all but gone although it could be that my body is still numb from the amount of alcohol that i consumed yesterday, We had a house warming and around 40 friends and neighbors turned up, 9 solid hours drinking and i think a good time was had by all,
I went into a store the other day and fell in love-at first sight, Our eyes met across a crowded check out and i knew i just had to have her and first think this morning she knocked on my door and now she is mine and what a beauty

I knew that this was the one when i saw Valantino Rossi's number on her side
My wife said it was the width of the cutters but what does she know

The photography will start again tonight once i have wrapped my new love up for the night,
Rumours have started again about Nikons long awaited D800 and Nikon Rumours site is showing some images of it so if they are real i would think that an announcement will be coming shortly,I have to say its not what you could call a pretty camera but as long as it functions as Nikon's normally do it will be a winner,
The terrible fllodings in Thailand will mean no cameras for a while but its now becoming far more reaching than that, Look at the prices of hard drives, Most made in the flood zone for companies like Western Digital , They have shot up in price, I am glad that i bought mine months ago

Dave

Weekend Round up

2011-11-20T20:04:00.002Z

Well following my last post, I was disappointed that they didn't show the Bittern (now Bitterns) from Slimbridge on Autumnwatch, but fingers crossed for the last show next week.

Closer to home, it is fantastic to see lots of returning visitors to the garden and the local river a and roosts.

In the garden, we are now seeing the best numbers of Blue Tits that I have seen since I moved here over four years ago, along with lots of Coal, Great and Long Tails. Chaffinch, Green and Goldfinch are also in good numbers , plus the usual suspects of Blackbirds, Dunnock, Robin and Wren.

I wasn't sure if it was the state of the feeders that was putting the birds off, so I gave them a thorough clean, scrub , disinfectant and refill last weekend. My hunch is that with it being a excellent berry and seed year, natures food supplies have been so bountiful that there has been no need for them to come to the gardens.

Just down the round at the river, birds numbers are increasing with lots more geese and swans, plus the winter arrivals of tufted duck showing well.

Tescos in Stratford provides for a great roost for Pied Wagtails, with hundreds most evenings which I also witnessed at Birmingham Airport last week after leaving a meeting there at dusk. That roost in itself also brings in Peregrine, which I have seen before and contacts there often see it resting on the sides of the multi storey car park.

Personal camera use has been limited since my trip to Westonbirt for one reason or another, so it was nice to get the studio gear out today and photograph one of the young grandchildren. Little Jayden was a delight to photograph and had fun during the shoot. Great outputs and happy families resulted - very pleasing and satisfying.

Martin

The Sky at Night

2011-11-19T19:38:00.003Z

Well the back problem persists and anybody who has suffered with their backs will know all to well how debilitating it can be, Many years ago i damaged my back at work and there followed a year of sleeping on the floor and a small op to try and get things back to normal, I would not say that its that bad but its like having a toothache in your back-always there and ready to get worse, The nights have been bitterly cold so i have opted to stay in the warm rather than sit it out and get some shots, Your health should always come first,
Now not many people know that i have for a long time had a fascination with the stars and planets and the last few nights have been awesome for clarity, Being out of the city helps as you dont get the light pollution, The skies where i live are not like Africa or India where you dont get any light and cities are hundreds of miles away but they are pretty good, Jupiter and Saturn can be seen easily and if you have a reasonable pair of binoculars the 4 moons around Jupiter are easily seen if you wedge yourself up against something to get a good stable view, I used to have a good telescope which i sold in France and that allowed good views of the Saturn and the rings that go around it, Its an amazing place and just look with your eyes and then through a pair of binoculars and see the difference that extra magnification makes, Its made me want to get another good telescope but the funds just dont allow at the moment, I quite fancy trying some astophotography, The major constellations are in view with Orion dominating the winter sky late at night, I find star gazing to be a great leveller and if things get too much, a small time looking at the stars brings things into some perspective, The North star or polaris is very clear and great to focus on if you want to get perfectly round star trails, The North Star or Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky which a lot of people think, Look at Cassiopeia and follow the top star towards the big dipper and the star in the middle if the North star, Easy when you know what to look for, If you have never really been into the stars or night sky have a look, especially through a pair of binoculars

Dave

Canon 500 Prices.....again plus a Bonus Bittern!!

2011-11-18T20:09:00.003Z

A while ago I posted here about problems with the supply and pricing of theCanon 500 lens, with the Mark1 being shown at the same prices as the Mark 2, and the mark 2 not being available.

Reading Dave's post of yesterday reminded me to check out where prices where.

Well, the Mark 2 shows a drop of £510 from its RRP launch price of 9K, but given the availability of lack of, then it could be any price for what its worth at the moment

But interestingly, the Mark 1 is showing back at its 'old' price of ca. £5.8K here at The Camera Centre. I don't know if they have stock, but if you are in the market, then it would be worth a call.

Tonight is the annual bore fest on TV of Children in Need - all worthy causes for sure, but a guaranteed turn off tellywise for me. The good news is that we have Autumnwatch on in a few minutes time, as I write this. Bittern have been seen this week at Slimbridge, so lets hope we see it on the show.

Some of the first shots I took with my 500 when it was new was of Bittern in the same location that it is this week.

Martin

Oh my Aching Back

2011-11-17T14:43:00.003Z

After a couple of weeks of lifting boxes, Unpacking and hanging artwork my aching back has said enough, So for the last couple of days i have had to sit in and watch wildlife from the living room window-again, Its given me time to try and sort out the crap that they call customer service here, Take Lowes for example, I order and pay for a sit on mower and the one that i want is at another store, I was told it will be with me in 3 days, After 3 weeks and numerous phone calls and shop visits i cancel the order, We had a new 6 piece L shaped sofa arrive, Cream to be precise except 1 piece is beige and they fit together badly, Its been a week and still no service call to find whats going on even though i went back to the store, I could go on but the gist is that nobody here gives a shit, They have your money now F--K off, Sorry about the rant but people in the UK think that your get such good customer service in the States and that maybe true in Florida or a holiday destination but you try living out here, I am surprised i have any hair left,
We had a visit from the neighbors the other evening and over a couple of bottle of my best wine they told me about the wildlife that they have enjoyed watching from the window over the last 5 years and apart from the fox,opossum and deer they have seen coyote, One that i want to see and photograph here but a threat to our dog so a fence is going up in a part of our garden, Its the reason that we moved, To have some extra land and have good wildlife in our own yard, The last couple of evenings have been quiet outside with just the opossum doing its rounds, The deer have come but they must have been here early morning as the corn has been eaten, Could be because of the hunting season and lots of shotguns going off,
We have had a very warm week with the temperatures yesterday touching 80, Last night a cold front come in and there were a couple of tornado's reported about 30-40 miles north of me, Its supposed to be back around 70 at the weekend when we have our house warming-fingers crossed,
Anybody waiting for the new Canon 500 and 600 will have to wait even longer as Canon keep changing the dates and have gone from December to a don't know, The 200-400 will end up as an urban legend, Its nice to know what a manufacturer has ups its sleeve for the future but nothing is worse than keep changing the dates of availability and you know that when they are finally released that you wont be able to get one because of next years Olympics,

Dave

Autumn Colour - UK Style Part 3

2011-11-16T18:55:00.003Z

Just a few more images to follow on from my previous posts here and here as a mid week quickie.

I enjoyed working this tree - it was steaming as the sun burnt off the moisture from the mossy trunk

This was a wonderful sight, as the sharp contrast of the red against the green being struck by the powerful strands of sunlight.

Not too many words. Feedback always welcomed.

Martin

Opossums and Prints Sales

2011-11-15T00:05:00.004Z

I am still spending a 2 or 3 hours a night trying to get opossum shots and am still at 1 image a night max, Once the flash goes off the opossum stops and has a think-shall i stay or shall i go-well thats what it looks like to me and after a few seconds scurries off, It does come back a few hours later but by that time i have left, I will take it slowly as i have as long as it takes, As long as its a bit more settled when winter does come i will be happy, I really would love some snow images with both opossum and fox, The weather here is far from Winter, Today it was warm winds from early on and 72 high and its set to stay that way until Thursday when a cooler spell arrives, I am going through one of the phases where i just cant get my flashguns right, I set up and take a couple of test shots and check the histogram and all is well but the final images are coming out dark, I think i am worried about blowing the opossums white face out and am setting them just a little under exposed,

Now how much is an image worth? $50,$100 or even $500? Well how about $4.3 Million, It must be a great image eh, One in a million shot,Stunning-Well no have a look at this.
Whats its all about? What a crazy world, Anyways i have reduced all my images to $1m for a quick sale

Dave

Autumn Colour - UK Style Take 2

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000Z

As a follow on from my first post from Westonbirt, here are a few more images froma morning of wonderful light, great autumn colour and fantastic atmosphere.

Not too many words, just pictures for you. All taken with Canon 5Dmk2, Canon 24-70f2.8 L and no filters.

Oh yes, and there is a Jay in the forth picture too.

Martin

Weekend bits and bobs

2011-11-13T13:42:00.005Z

Its been a bit up and down the last couple of days, I have continued to watch and put a couple of sessions in with the opossum and i have been doing a fair bit of homework on the opossum, Here are some interesting facts that you may find interesting and make it more of an interesting and often overlooked subject
1,Opossum fossils have been found dating back to the dinosaur age, So its a great survivor
2,Its has over 50 teeth, More than any mammal
3,When it feels threatened it foes into a non induced coma that lasts from 40 mins to 4 hours, Thats where the saying 'playing possum' comes from
4,They are immune from snake bites and can eat a rattle snake
5.They dont get Rabies
I set up the other evening using the D7000 and 600 as i wanted big in the frame images, I used a SB900 and SB600 set up but got it slightly wrong as when i took a shot the foreground was a bit dark and the background over light, I kicked myself but there you go, We have to make mistakes to learn i guess and there will be other opportunities,I had a play in PS but its not that good
The background is just too bright,
Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful if not cold frosty morning, I was sitting in bed drinking a coffee when my wife said that there was a deer in the garden, I had not seen a deer here in daylight and soon realized that it was a male (Buck) with a nice rack, It was followed by another similar sized buck, They were in transit and were gone within a minute but what a great sight to see from your bed, I made sure that there was extra corn in the garden incase they come back.
I had a quick play with the New Acratech head and leveling base on my Manfrotto 055Pro tripod with the 600 with and without the 1.4x, We had 2 nuthatches in the garden and i slowly edged out of the back door and managed a few shots before they went, Firstly its no Wimberley but then i knew that, It needs to be set pretty tight to stop a big lens flopping back or forth, No problem there, With the 600 even locked down tight you could easily induce a rocking motion, So good technique is needed, On the plus side its easy to use and very smooth, I dont intend to use it with the 600 and as i said before its really for the 200-400 and smaller which i am sure it will be great, the light was quite low and the shutter speeds were around 1/100 so i was asking alot but i did get some sharp images so cant complain,More later

Dave

New Hides are horrible for Photographers

2011-11-12T20:23:00.004Z

As a reasonably regular visitor to various wildlife reserves across the country, I continue to be amazed at the lack of decent facilities for photographers or consideration for the very different requirements for photogaphers compared to birders.

Some of the new designs and incarnations are truly awful as can be seen at the monster hide at RSPB Titchwell and the latest 'thing' at RSPB Minsmere.

Massive windows, strange mechanisms to operate the glass, and really high view points. Now for birders, I understand that this is fine - get up high, have a massive vista in front of you, and with your 60X scope, you can watch Wrens and Goldcrest from 50 miles away.

Now photography is not that unpopular a pastime, and judging by the numbers I see at these locations lugging their 500 and 600's around, there are a lot of us, but sometimes, it feels like we might as well be a bunch of lepers.

Where are the low viewpointrs, sympathetic positioning with light and habitat management? These things are not mutually exclusive to wildlife, so go on you lot at WWT, RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts please try thinking about us the next time you build hides.

Now I know there was a great little photographers hide at Snettisham, tha required the photographers to go in and out at certain times, and this got abused by some, and so it was spoiled for all. I know as I tried to book this a couple of years back when it was taken out of service.

I dont think we are asking for that. General access is fine, but get us down low please. One of the best for this that I have used is the South Lake at Slimbridge, when the water levels are up.

Here is an image from South Lake at Slimbridge to show what I mean, plus a Marsh Harrier in flight at the Bittern Hide at Minsmere. Which other than this type of in flight is hopeless for photography.

So you reserve people, feel free to give us your thoughts. We will even let you have a right to reply blog spot post if you want it, and to our regular readers, let us know what you think or the good hides around the country.

Martin

Garden Abstracts and new gear

2011-11-11T13:44:00.005Z

The other morning i awoke to a misty morning, I quickly put some clothes on and grabbed the gear and headed into the garden,Now firstly i should explain that we do not have any shutters on the windows at the moment (that will change Tuesday) so if i wake during the night i can see whats in the back garden (we have a first floor master bedroom) and when i wake first thing i can see what the weathers like and if its worth getting the gear out, One morning i looked out and could see the trees at the bottom of the garden beautifully lit but by the time i got out i had missed it and the sun had moved,One thing that i noticed when i first moved here was that the trees are very straight and perfect for some abstract photography, The type where you use a slow shutter speed and pan the camera smoothly up and down to blur the scene but still have some recognition of what it is, I have not tried it before but have seen it done many times and sometimes very very well, Its very hit or miss and i did shoot quite a lot until i got something close to what i had in my head, I made a mistake of using the 16-35, It was a bit too wide and tended to bow the scene at the edges when used towards the wider end, I had meant to grab the 24-70 but as they look alike and i was rushing i grabbed the wrong lens,
Here is a scene of part of the garden showing the nice straight trees

And here is a shot using a 1.5 sec shutter speed where i panned the camera that was tripod mounted up slowly whilst the shutter was open
I think that the autumn leaves add to the image and you can still tell what the scene is, Its not the best but its the best from that session and something i will try and perfect as time goes on,

I did some shopping at BH Photovideo which arrived late last night, As i said last week Sandisk (and now Lexar) have dropped the prices on their memory cards big time and i quickly ordered 2 16gb Extreme Pro 90mb/sec CF cards, Nothing much to say about them really and i will soon be using them, The bigger capacity will help when i am Florida shooting manatees underwater, I also treated myself to a new tripod head as my back up tripod head which i have had for many years has frozen solid, It was an Arca Swiss and always suffered from a stickly/jerky feel, I know that they did have a problem with a batch and think that i had one which i should have sent back but never got around to it, I was never really happy with a ball head even though thats all i used for many years until my life changed and i bought a wimberley gimbal head, it really made such a huge difference that i would never go back, the drawbacks of the wimberley are that they are big and very expensive, I cant afford to have 2 and i want something for the 200-400 so probably do not need something like the wimberley so i purchased a long lens head by Acratech, ,my buddy Pete had one in Japan and the first thing that you notice is that its small and very light at under 1 pound, Its beautifully machined and works similar to a gimbal where you can pan left and right and up and down at the same time, But its not really a gimbal in that if you push the lens forward it will flop down, It takes a little setting up to get it 'balanced' and like all my heads i like to have a little tension in the settings rather than have everything totally loose, I have my 600 sitting on it now but as i say its going to be for the 200-400 and will be great for traveling or if i have to walk any distance due to the weight saving, To go with the head i also bought an Acratech leveling base, I have a leveling base on my Gitzo tripod with Wimberley head and the base makes life so easy that again i would not do without one, The gitzo leveling base is very heavy but the Arcratech is very small and light and a perfect combination for the head, Again small and beautifully machined, It only goes to 10 degrees whereas the Gitzo goes to 15 degrees but thats a small point, Once i have had chance to play with my new toys i will post back a small review with the likes and dislikes if there are any
Here is a review on the Acratech levleing base by Luminous Landscape

Dave

Autumn Colour - UK Style

2011-11-10T05:00:00.000Z

After Dave's great post of Autumn Colours, and as mentioned in recent blogs by me, here is my take on Autumn Colours.

Taken nearly a couple of weeks back at Westonbirt Arboretum, which is where the Autumnwatch programme was coming from at the time.

I have been to this place many times in my past as I used to live about three miles away for a few years so it was a local haunt. I have been back about three times before, specifically for photography in recent years, but I cannot remember a year as good as this for colour. Maybe the mixed up weather has played a positive part. The downside being that the duration of the colour has been short.

Anyway, the forecast the night before I went was looking to be what I needed. Foggy/misty and then sunny, and quite cold - perfect.

Some of the pictures that I got this time around I had seen in my mind for a number of years, and it still feels like a great adventure setting out in the car in the dark, and travelling a good distance to get the image you only see in your mind.

I wasn't disappointed - just the sorts of images I was looking for.

Walking the reverse direction around the Autumn colour walk, it meant that I was constantly walking into the sun rather than have it behind me. Perfect for what I was looking for.

Not bothering with a tripod, filters or other paraphernalia, I was able to work in a free form style, quickly and capturing the changing moments fast, and avoiding the traditional photographers setting up wide shots around me with the sun behind them on their tripods. I did respect their work though and ask before I walked across the front of their lenses.

Using the 5Dmk2 and my trusty 24-70 f2.8L lens, I really enjoyed the photography.

Here are a few of the images that I got that morning. I will do another post with a few more next time around.

All of these images were taken in the aptly named Acer Glade, a wonderful collection of Maples from around the world.

Martin

And so it begins

2011-11-09T03:18:00.005Z

After watching the floodlit garden every night for 10 nights i felt it was time to test the water and get the flashguns out, Now i was not expecting much, 1 image was the goal to see how the animals would react to the flashguns, Every animal will react differently, Some take little notice and some are gone before your eyes have had time to adjust, The opossum as been out around 9pm but the night before i saw it at 7.30 so i set up early, 5.45pm to be precise and at 6.45pm i heard a movement in the nearby trees and then a small dark shape passed by and went to the closer of the two feeding areas, it was perfect and with the 600 lens i could get a nice portrait which is what i was after, Unfortunately i had been sitting still for an hour and as i moved towards the camera i got cramp in the hips and had to move which spooked the opossum , i cursed but sat it out hoping that i would not be too long before it returned, It was about 30 mins or so before it returned and went to the further feeding area, I watched it through the viewfinder for a couple of minutes to let it relax and feed then as it looked my way i pressed the shutter which was set to quiet mode and with a pop of the flashguns i had the first image in the bag, The opossum turned around and walked off into the woodland and i took the opportunity to grab the gear and go back indoors, The 1 image was all i wanted and i didn't want to put pressure on the animals by waiting and getting more images, Slowly but surely and the results will come, I would be interested to see what you think about the composition, I put the tree base large in the frame which is quite unusual but i liked the result, It gives a sense of scale to the animal, The tree is not big as you can tell by the size of the bark, I would really have liked to get a full face close up but that will have to wait for another time, Along with the D3s and tripod mounted 600 i used 2x SB600 flashguns triggered by a SU 800 on the cameras hotshoe

Dave

Hard DriveProblems?

2011-11-08T18:00:00.000Z

As a bit of a follow on from Dave's post of yesterday, there could possibly be trouble brewing on the Hard Drive Front.

I understand that the majority are manufactured in flood torn Thailand as this story will testify.

What does if mean for us? Well almost certainly prices will rise as availability becomes scarce and lead times increase.

S, if you need more External HDD capacity get in quick, and if you are putting off getting a new PC or laptop, think hard, but think quick.

Sandisk Bargains

2011-11-07T19:50:00.002Z

A couple of months ago i was going to order some bigger capacity Sandisk CF cards for my D3s, I held off as i thought that the new D800 was about to be announced and wanted to know if that would have CF or SD card slots, Well i am glad that i waited as last week the price of the CF cards tumbled, A new 16GB Extreme pro (90mb/sec) is now down to $66 at BH Photovideo and i will be ordering a couple before the stocks run out, Now you may wonder why the cards have dropped so much so quickly, Maybe there is a new faster card coming out and you may be right but the Extreme pro is faster than most cameras can handle but you gain with the download speeds, I certainly wish that they were this price when i went to Japan earlier this year and i am sure i lost some shots by having to change cards over when the going was fast and furious,
A quick garden update and the dog problem is getting worse, Last night the big hunting type dog chased the deer away and then this morning 2 other dogs appeared twice, So i will need to replace the fence that the builder took down and quickly before the animals are perminantly spooked or my own dog gets attacked, The bird numbers are increasing as are the species, A Northern Flicker has been hanging around the garden, I hear it more than see it and i had a white breasted Nuthatch on the feeder a couple of times today, Crows are in the garden most days and the numbers of morning doves have increased to six, We worked hard all weekend getting boxes emptied and i have been sorting the garage out today, The last of the new furniture arrives this week and then its job done and back to shooting and processing, Only 6 weeks before i am in Florida and boy will i enjoy the break, 2 days with Manatees and 3 days birding should get the cobwebs off the gear

Dave

Late Sunday Quickie

2011-11-06T20:08:00.002Z

6th of November and we still have Red Admiral butterflies whizzing round in the garden, along with spring flowers such as Red Campion and Cornflower popping up - bizarre? or just unusual.

Jac and I went across for an early morning walk upon the Malvern Hills today to enjoy the lovely crisp light. There were few few birds about, but we did see a number of Meadow pipits passing through.

I loved the BBC Autumnwatch show on Friday night, in particular the section from Islay focussing on Twite and Raptors. I have never been to Islay as I usually go further north, but after seeing the programme it is definitely on my 'must do' list now. I particularly loved the views of the Merlin - what a fantastic bird. So it was a remarkable coincidence that while driving back home yesterday morning, we spotted one very close to home. Stunning views, fabulous bird and only my second sighting in Warwickshire.

This blog was originally going to be much longer, and I had just about completed it when I lost the lot - my fault for finger trouble as I deleted the lot, and then it autosaved about three words before I realised and had a chance to go back.

So I need to wrap up now as I need to get off, and I will save what I had written on my views on hides at reserves for another day.

Martin

Preparation

2011-11-05T20:50:00.007Z

Whilst the cameras have not been out since the last blog mainly due to rain and a large dog running a muck in my garden at night i have been busy preparing for the future, Its easy enough to get birds to the feeders but its nice to have a captive audience such as when they nest so i have put up a couple of bird boxes so that they are settled and awaiting the spring, Last year the bird boxes did well with Eastern Bluebirds having 3 broods, I have put up 1 box for bluebirds and 1 for chickerdees but whatever takes residence is more than welcome, I will leave the boxes empty for the winter but as spring approaches i will put some soft nesting material in just to make it more attractive, Do not put in saw dust as it will hold water/wee and will get in the checks eyes, I normally put in a small amount of cotton wall and let the birds do the rest, Not only is it nice to have birds use the boxes but i enjoyed watching the too and frooing last year as well as having the chicks follow their parents to the feeders, I think its a bit like decorating,80% preparation gives the best long term results, I have also started to turn the base of the screened porch into a blind with the help if some camo netting and plan to start using this very soon for the opossum that visits every night (dog permitting)

Bluebirds Nest Box

Chickadee Nest Box
Make shift Blind/Hide under the screened porch

Just need to make a few slots for the lens to poke through

Dave

Deer Rut Season Pt 3 + Bonus Birds

2011-11-04T19:17:00.005Z

Following on from my last post, I said I would bring you some Fallow Deer images.

Bradgate Park has two deers species - Red and Fallow. While the Red deer stags are mighty and noisy beasts, the Fallow bucks are much more delicate in looks, size and sounds. They still make a fair old noise but it is somewhat less impressive than the Reds.

They have wonderful markings too - much more 'Bambi' like in appearance so they tend to get the ahhh factor.

I also got a few bonus bird images and here are a few that caught my eye.

Crow Silhouette

Beautiful Mistle Thrush (large crop as it was a way away from me)

Cock Yellowhammer

I have not been successful with Yellowhammer much before as they are quite skittish. This one decided to plonk itself down in front of me for a change, so I got lucky.

I will be back next time with some Autumn colour of my own from Westonbirt Arboretum where the first four episodes of the BBC Autumnwatch programme was held, and I will be off now to get settled in for the next episode where they are now moving across Gloucestershire to WWT Slimbridge.

Have a great weekend wherever you are.

Martin

Autumn Colours

2011-11-03T12:55:00.010Z

There has certainly been a change in the weather, For the last few days we have had quite a heavy frost in the mornings and glorious sunny days, Tuesday evening i grabbed all my gear and headed off to Falls lake, The colours are at their best and will only be that way for a few days to a week unless we have heavy rain or wind and then it will be all over, The Lake is very low after a long and hot summer and where i shot you would normally be waist deep in water, There were a lot of deer and raccoon prints in the mud, I guess the deer were there for a drink and the raccoon were collecting the mussels that were now exposed, I had about 30 clear minutes before the sun would be too low and cast a heavy shadow across the trees on the far bank, I had lenses from 14mm to 600 as i didn't know really what to expect as i had only driven past before, Its good to have a range and the long lenses can give you detail shots rather than the standard wide scenic type, The wide shots were not that great as the sky was clear of any cloud to give some drama, When i got there the lake was flat and calm but as soon as i set up the breeze arrived and shot with and without the 10 stop filter to flatten the water, As always tripod mounted and cable release

Standard shot without filters

10 Stop ND filter added to smooth water

I shot using various lenses until the shadow appeared across the trees, I had a quick walk around and then as i turned towards my car i noticed the back lit trees under the bridge in the distance, I set up with the 600 on the D3s and just managed to get it in, The bridge gave a natural frame so i could see what i was going to get and its probably my favorite shot of the night

I had noticed that there was mist rising from the lake in the colder conditions so i was up and out before the sun rose and went back to the same place, What a difference, Thick fog so i turned around and went back to the small 3 acre lake that is on the community where i live, The conditions there were perfect and as predicted the mist was rising off of the pond, I set up and too a standard shot

It was clear that i would need to use a ND Grad filter to allow the bottom of the image to be brighter without blowing the sky

I used a 2 stop grad but think that a 3 stop may have been better as the sky was blue and not the off white here, The sun was rising and the rays were catching the coloured trees on the far bank nicely

A flock of Canada Geese landed as did a heron which didnt seem to put off by my presence which was good, Every night since moving in i have continued to put out some deer corn and dog food and every night it has been eaten, The dog food mainly by an opossum and there are 2 does with young, I have seen a Grey fox twice but its very skittish no doubt due to the 2 spot lights that i have over the baited area, It will take time but within a few months they will become more relaxed in a lighted area, The opossum has no problems with it and comes and goes all evening, One evening i watched it 5 times, The opossums here are very dark compared to where i lived before so that will make a nice change

Dave

Deer Rut Season Part 2 - Red Deer

2011-11-02T05:00:00.000Z

In Part 1, I mentioned I went to Bradgate Park in Leicestershire to get some images of the rut.

Well getting there in the early dawn about 15 minutes before the car park was meant to open, I noticed a good few cars already there and took myself into the park. As I got near to the entrance, the calls of the Red Deer stags was loud and coming from a number of directions.

Within 25 metres of being in the park, I was aware of young stags to my left, right and ahead of me. All of them calling, and eyeing me nervously and suspiciously, while checking on their numerous hinds.

As I walked gently through the middle of them, I felt quite vulnerable, particularly as one of the more inquisitive ones started to come towards me. Extending one of the tripod legs gave me a little bit of false confidence if needed, but it was a nervous couple of minutes for me until I was clear of them.

Moving up the road towards Lady Jane Grey's ruined house, I was aware of a number of Fallow deer to my left and right, but at this stage, it was still quite dark.

As I walked further into the park, and the light improved, I came across my first Stag with a group of hinds that was busy seeing off a younger suitor.

These images below were of the senior Stag.

The first four images were taken in a burst of four showing him going through his roar. These were taken with the 5Dmk2 and 500 on the tripod. The second two were with the animal further away, so I just switched bodies and used the 7D for these.

Instead of using the tele-converter, I wanted to keep the full f4 speed of the 500 available to me, and switch between the Full frame and 1.6 crop bodies to act as my distance adjustment. It worked quite well and was surprising quick and easy to do. This is the big advantage of setting up both cameras in identical modes using the C1 to C3 custom pre-set dials.

In the last image, I wanted to show more than just a specimen stag and depict the hinds as well looking on as their brave stag roared at the retreating suitor stag.

It was a wonderful experience. The light didn't work as well as I wanted - no wonderful backlit shots, no steam as they bellowed in the cold crisp air. It was too warm, and at 8am towards the end of October I was still in short shirtsleeves. And of course, no wonderful Scottish mountains to be seen either.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience.

Back next time with Fallow deer and a few bonus birds from the trip as well.

Martin

wet wet wet

2011-10-31T22:59:00.003Z

The weather has been against me for a couple of days although yesterday evening was not too bad but i was out late and it was too late to grab the cameras when i got back, Today we woke to rain and its been wet all day so just unpacking and getting the electrician back out for another fault, The good news is that last night we had 4 female deer in the garden along with a fox and an opossum which was really great to watch through the window, I had a flood light out and they did not seem to mind at all, The birds have found the feeders and we have had a lot of chickadee, Tufted titmouse and cardinals on the feeders, I am not surprised as a cold spell will always make them look for food, We also had one of Martins favorites on the feeder-a grey squirrel so all in all the wildlife situation is looking good even though it will mean mainly night time shooting for the mammals, We have a nice area underneath the screened porch that i will turn into a blind and it will be a nice all year shooting place as it was be completely dry for the wet and wintery days and cool for the summer, We have had a couple of long days unpacking and i would think by the end of the week it will be all over and the cameras will be out on a daily basis-cant wait

Dave

WWT Slimbridge Day Trip Part 3 - last bit

2011-10-31T09:38:00.006Z

My days out to Slimbridge are usually spent photographing the wildfowl from the wild hides capturing the sorts of birds in my last post. But when I went a couple of weeks back, the water levels were low and there were very few close in birds to photograph.

So taking a walk to the western end of the reserve to the Kingfisher hide (no Kingfishers ) I set about getting some images of common garden birds. Yes, the sort of thing I get regularly in my back garden.

I haven't put much time into these common little birds over the recent past, so I set about to rectify that.

Lots of sightings of various Tits, Finches and a delightful Reed Bunting, which sadly didn't pose in a suitable place for me.

But here are a few common birds, that always give me great pleasure to watch.

Back next time with Red and Fallow Deer from Bradgate Park for you

Martin

Welcome guests

2011-10-30T15:54:00.002Z

Although we are in the new house it seems that the work has just started, Both my wife and myself are absolutely knackered and there still seems hundreds of boxes to unpack and desks etc to put together, The fall colours around Falls lake are gorgeous, I will try and pop down there this evening is the weather holds out, It has rained hard for the last couple of days and today i awoke to the first frosts of the year which will add to the colour, Last night i watched a fox feeding in the garden which is great, They have found the food quickly and i will keep it up now until the are confident and coming at a regular time, I wish i could say about the bird feeders which have sat there unloved for the last few days, It will only take one bird to trigger it off and i remember waiting for 3 weeks for the first birds to feed in my garden in France but when it started it went mad, I hope they start soon and the cold weather should keep them looking for more.
I have to say that its great being in our new home, Its beautifully built and the setting is lovely, We had a nice welcome pack from the neighbours with wine and chocolates and a gift for our dog, So far so good,

Dave